Any drug treatment service considering providing a child or young person under 18 with training on overdose management or on the use of naloxone, or considering direct supply of naloxone, should act in line with established clinical principles for the treatment of children and young people. This is the case whether the goal of such consideration is to reduce risks to a young person who is using drugs or to reduce risk for others (such as an opioid-using parent).
The best way to make people understand the need to stay with you if you OD is to let them know you’ll stay with them if they do. Think about the people you use with from day to day and week to week, have you had that kind of conversation with them? Maybe now is the time. Make a promise to people that if either of you overdose the other one will help.
If you inject heroin, methadone treatment reduces the risk of overdose. Heroin injectors who are not in methadone treatment are around 11 times more likely to die than those who are in treatment! Methadone takes a few days to build up in your system at the start of treatment, so don’t expect it to work instantly.
Rather than telling people that they are powerless in the face of the drugs they use, naloxone shows people that they can be in control of their own health promotion, and the promotion of their peers. Given access to naloxone drug users will (and do) support each other.
‘Fentanyl=death’ messages are inadequate as, without access to licit compounds, people will still access the street market and so harm reduction is also essential.
If you’re using drugs of unknown strength (and you are every time you purchase from a different dealer or new batch), do a tester shot first to see how strong they are. You can always do more later. Many people overdose when they do a full hit of a strong drug.
