Montreal universities prepare for worst, train staff to administer fentanyl antidote

The fall session at Montreal'suniversities has been underway for less than a month, but administrators are already starting to plan for the worst as cases of fentanyl overdose continue to rise in the city.

Universitdu Qubec Montral(UQAM) has already started training security agents and staff to administer the life-saving opioid overdose antidote, naloxone.

The school hopes to train 100 personnelthey're just waiting on access to the kits that can prevent death from a heroin, morphine or fentanyl overdose.

"They have the knowledge to intervene now, there is just thesupply chain to figure out," saidJean-Franois Champagne, UQAM's security director.

In the wake of a spike of drug overdosesacross the city, a doctor with Montreal Public Healthcalled fentanyl'sgrowing presence in the citya "public health emergency."

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The Quebec coroner's office reported this monththat24 confirmed cases of drug overdoses, and 12 deaths possibly connected to drug overdoses, have occurred since Aug. 1 in Montreal.

'A devastating drug'

McGill University is also planning ahead, with Deputy ProvostOllivierDyenscalling the current situation "worrisome."

He says the administration hopes totrain security, residence employees and other community members to use the antidote in order to prevent any loss of life.

"It's a devastating drug. We're talking about a population of40,000 students," said Dyens.

The Quebec government announced Sept. 13 thatnaloxone will soonbe free and accessible in pharmacies across the province in an effort to prevent a full-blown fentanyl crisis.

• Life-saving drug for opioid overdoses to be offered for free in Quebec pharmacies

Spokespeople fromUniversit de Montraland ConcordiaUniversityboth confirmed that the institutions were monitoring the situation closely and working on coming up with a response.

In addition to schools preparing their staff, Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre recently announcedpolice and firefighters will be equipped with naloxonekits on top of paramedics, who have been carrying them for years.