Opioid addiction 'epidemic' in N.L. says U-Turn founder

The founder of the U-Turn Drop In Centre in Carbonear says that opiate abuse in Newfoundland and Labrador has reached "epidemic" levels.

In an interview with the St. John's Morning Show, Jeff Bourne said that in his region,opioidsused aspain medication and asstreet drugsarea problemjust like everywhereelse in the province.

"I say we're into an epidemic right now," said Bourne

Hesaid that fentanyl adrug that can be up to100 times stronger than morphine has been showing uparoundCarbonear,first as a slow-release patchand latelyas a pill.

He believes the struggle with opioids in N.L.beganyears ago when doctors startedprescribing drugs like OxyContinto patients who weren't aware of their addictive nature.

"The withdrawal systems [are]pretty harsh," said Bourne.

He said opioidusers who've been prescribed powerfuldrugs oftenend up seeking relief from street drugs when those withdrawal symptoms begin to hit.

U-Turn provides support for addicts by providing 12-step meetings, information, and counseling.

More overdoses than statistics say

According to Bourne, there's a higher number of opioidoverdoses in Newfoundland and Labrador than the official statistics show, with autopsy reports often listingcardiac arrest.

Bourne even recalls one instance where a syringe was found near a body, but the cause of death was marked as a heart attack

"When you've got a young man or a young lady that dies of cardiac arrest, there's an underlying issue: Why did they have a massive heart attack?"

He said the province's approval of takehome Naloxene kits a drug that works to reverse the effects of an overdoseis a "huge step" in helping addicts.

"I know there's a bit of wait time for treatment and stuff but the government's doing a lot of things with the resources that they've got right now towards helping people."

U-Turn hopingto expand

Bourne said U-Turn is working on a proposaltoexpand itsfacilitiesto better handle the demand for addiction counseling services in Carbonear.

He said they're doing it in hopes of receivingenoughfunding to secureanother buildingand to establish some form of a sober living facility like a transitional house for men on site.

Right now, heworriesthat individuals visiting the facility aren'tgetting the attention they need.

"[Our] big concern is if people come inand they're kind of glancing around the office seeing what stuff is there, they don't really get the full benefit of the one-on-one peer support that we're offering them."