Advocates call for improvements to N.S. program that warns of dangerous drugs

Advocates are calling for changes to a Nova Scotia program that warns the public of new and dangerous street drugs, saying the alerts about potential overdose risks don't reach the most vulnerable people quickly enough.

They say the consequences of an ineffective warningsystem can be fatal.

"Anybody who's not directly connected to an organization or watching social media often doesn't get those alerts," said Amanda Dodsworth, a youth outreach worker with the Peer Outreach Support Services and EducationProject.

"So if you have really vulnerable populations who are not connected to community resources, they might be missing informationthat could keep them safe."

Public alerts warn of dangerous drugs

According to the province, 57 people died from opioid overdoses in 2019, and thatnumber is predicted to increase over time.

The province'sdrug harms alert program was created by the provincial health authority in November 2020 as part of a larger strategy aimed at counteracting the opioidcrisis.

Nova Scotia Health receives reports of contaminated or poisoned drugs from law enforcement or community organizations. Alerts are then sent by email to a list of community-based organizations in the province thatdisseminate the information.

Nova ScotiaHealth also sends out a public alert on Twitter and Facebook, but people on the alert distribution list say this can be hours or days later.

Confusion after 2 alerts sent at same time

On July 15,an alert was sent outwarning of an unknown substance circulating in the Halifax area that hadcausedmultiple overdoses and two deaths. Later that month, Nova Scotia Health sent out two more alerts at the same time, one identifying the drug from July 15 asisotonitazene, a synthetic opioid.

The second, unrelated alert referenced a differentdrug etizolam seized in the Halifax area on July 16. Etizolam is a benzodiazepine and, unlike isotonitazene, does not respond to life-savingNaloxone.

Both alerts were scant on details and resulted in confusion among some news outlets and people on social media, who incorrectly identified etizolamas the drug causing the overdoses and fatalities.

Cheryl MacIsaac, a program co-ordinatorat Adsum for Women and Children, said though her organization deals mainly with housing, it uses harm reduction practices daily and isoften faced with drug overdoses.

She said sharing information with those who need it mostcan be difficult if people are transient, use drugs in private dwellings, or are not involved with any harm reduction organizations.

"Who the alerts are received byor how the information is disseminated is problematic," MacIsaac said."It's mostly going to people behind desks, and not [drug] users."

Dodsworthsaid more peer outreach workers are needed to reach vulnerable populations.

"Funnelling funding into street-level organizations that already have built trusted relationships with populations that are often hard to reach and allowing them the ability to grow their organization would be ideal," Dodsworth said.

'Innovative' harm reduction

Sheand MacIsaac pointto Vancouver as the best example of harm reduction practices and communication about drug harms.

Vancouver uses a system called the Real-time Drug Alert andResponse (RADAR) project, which began in 2017 and was among the first of its kind in the country.

Elizabeth Holliday, the director of Vancouver Coastal Health's emergency response and harm reduction program, said anyone in the community can sign up to receive text message alerts about drug harms, and can also submit anonymous tips about overdose risks via text or web.

People can send photos of tainted drugs and details like what it was sold as and where it was purchased. If a trend is identified, a text alert is sent out.

Holliday saidfocus groups of people who use drugs have reported thatthe RADARsystem is effective.

"[They said] it did alter their decisions about how they were using and thensupported them to make changes to their practices and maybe accessoverdose prevention services," she said.

'An issue for everybody'

Dodsworth saidit's astrategy that should be used in Nova Scotia.

She said though people living rough may not have a phone or access to the internet, many of them do, and can pass the information on to others within their networks.

Dodsworth says text alerts would also benefit young people and students, who are high-risk users and are often overlooked when it comes to drug policy.

"This isn't an issue just for street-entrenched or homeless folks or chronic users, this is really an issue for everybody," she said.

Dodsworth and MacIsaac saidNova Scotia's alert system is a step in the right direction, but that itmust exist in conjunction with other harm reduction methods like a safe supply, drug checking, and decriminalization.

Government response

Nova Scotia Health said in an email that it welcomes suggestions on how to improve servicesand noted it hasa regular working group called the harm reduction implementation team, which serves as a platform to discuss improvements.

It said it's in theplanning stages of a formal evaluation of the drug harms alert program, but ultimately, "decisions around policy direction and funding for enhancements to harm reduction services rest with the Department of Health and Wellness."

Premier-designate Tim Houston said in his election platform that his government will create a Ministry of Addictions and Mental Health.