Ottawa elementary schools next in line for naloxone kits

Now that Ottawa's largest school board has finished installing naloxonekits in all its high schools, it'sturning its attention to its elementary schools.

The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board is evaluating when, how and which elementary schools could receive the opioid antidote kits, the board confirmed in an email to CBCNews.

Currentlyall 32 high schools and alternativeschools are equipped with the kits, which includes two doses of naloxone nasal spray and a disposable breathing mask,the email stated.

Principals and vice principals at those schools have been trained to use the kits, while teachers,educational assistants and support staff who have volunteered are being trained in CPR and first aid, said Sharlene Hunter, a communications officer with the board. She expects the first aid training to be completed by the end of the year.

As of Friday, none of thekits hadbeen used, Hunter said.

'Smartie parties'

Dr. JaneLiddlesaid she's aware of children as young as 11who have taken various drugsincluding marijuana and ecstasy, which could be laced with other drugs such as fentanyl.

Your first time could be your last.- Jane Liddle, Barrhaven pediatrician

"Half the time they don't know what they took," saidthe Barrhavenpediatrician, whocounsels patients as young as eight about the dangers of drug use.

"There have been what we call 'Smartie parties' where things get taken from everybody's drug cupboard at home and thrown in a bowl and people take a handful of stuff and they don't know what they took," Liddle said.

Liddle said havingnaloxonekits in schools isas necessary as having defibrillators, even if they're never used. However that needs to come with honest discussions about why the kits are there, she said.

In October, Ottawa policeconfirmed the first instance ofcarfentanilfound in street drugs in the city.

The drug samples were collected during the summer andtested by Health Canada.Carfentanilisconsidered more dangerous than fentanyl and can be10,000 times more potent thanmorphine. It's often used as an elephant tranquilizer and the equivalent of a few grains of salt of the drug can kill a person, Liddle said.

"I think we just gotta keep talking. I think parents, youth, they just need to understand how dangerous this is, and that nothing is safe," she said.

"Your first time could be your last."