Addiction Policy Forum launches overdose awareness toolkit in collaboration with University of Waterloo
Today
Addiction
Policy
Forum
released
a
comprehensive
Overdose
Awareness
Toolkit
in
collaboration
with
the
University
of
Waterloo
School
of
Pharmacy
(Ontario,
Canada).
This
toolkit
comes
ahead
of
International
Overdose
Awareness
Day
on
August
31st.
According
to
the
Centers
for
Disease
Control
(CDC),
70,237
people
died
of
drug
overdoses
in
2017,
of
which
more
than
47,000
involved
opioids.
The
Overdose
Awareness
Toolkit
includes
training
videos
on
how
to
recognize
and
respond
to
an
overdose,
information
about
how
to
administer
naloxone,
harm
reduction
education,
resources
and
further
reading.
“Learning
how
to
recognize
and
respond
to
an
opioid
overdose
can
help
save
a
life,”
says
Jessica
Hulsey
Nickel,
president
of
Addiction
Policy
Forum.
“We
are
proud
to
collaborate
with
the
University
of
Waterloo
School
of
Pharmacy
on
this
initiative,
and
we
encourage
everyone
to
share
these
life-saving
resources
with
their
communities
and
loved
ones.”
The
University
of
Waterloo
School
of
Pharmacy
is
an
international
leader
in
the
harm
reduction
field
and
has
produced
overdose
reversal
training
materials
in
several
languages,
as
well
as
content
about
opioids
for
chronic
pain
and
cannabis.
"It’s
been
great
to
share
our
resources
as
the
opioid
crisis
continues
to
grow,"
said
Dr.
Kelly
Grindrod,
Associate
Professor
at
University
of
Waterloo
School
of
Pharmacy.
"We
need
as
many
people
as
possible
to
know
about
naloxone."
Naloxone
is
a
medication
that
can
reverse
opioid
overdoses
by
binding
to
the
same
brain
receptors
that
opioids
do
and
temporarily
pushing
out
the
opioids
that
are
causing
the
overdose.
To
find
naloxone
near
you,
call
the
Addiction
Resource
Center:
1-833-301-HELP
(4357).
Check
out
the
Overdose
Awareness
Toolkit
website.