By EMS1 Staff
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Canadian paramedics recently reported a troubling new trend —addicts using the needles from naloxone kits to inject street drugs.
GlobalNews.ca reported that over 18,000 naloxone kits have been handed out across British Columbia.
“Syringes are being used to inject drugs, and when they do that, they render the kit useless in the sense that they don’t have a needle to inject the Narcan that will save their life,” paramedic Dave Leary said. “I think it’s horrific. I think that it’s a very unfortunate turn of circumstances.”
However, the B.C. Ministry of Health said it has not heard about a misuse of naloxone kits.
“This is not a concern that has been raised to the Joint Task Force … the program has saved hundreds of lives,” the Ministry said in a statement.
More than 755 people have died from illicit drugs in British Columbia this year. There has also been over 6,000 recorded overdoses in Vancouver, according to the report.
“We as a professional body don’t feel it’s the magic bullet. People are still dying and in greater numbers than has ever been seen before,” Leary added.