KITCHENER -- A warning has been issued by the Waterloo Region Integrated Drugs Strategy (WRIDS) after an increase in overdose calls.
In a press release, the organization said emergency services responded to 21 overdose related calls this weekend, including a suspected overdose death.
Officials add that there have been 1,244 overdose-related calls to emergency services in Waterloo Region so far this year. This number is already higher than the total for all of 2020, which was a five-year high.
"For staff, that means they can't do the other work that they're there to do," said Michael Parkinson with the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council. "It really is a medical emergency on a population level."
The unexpected reactions include extreme drowsiness and lethargy even after naloxone is administered, and benzodiazepines may be in the local drug supply, according to officials.
They warn substances circulating in Waterloo Region may be stronger than expected and contain substances that cause unexpected reactions.
WRIDS is asking those who are using substances to not use alone, and to access the consumption and treatment services site at 150 Duke St. West in Kitchener.
“In Ontario last year they were detected in almost 11-hundred overdose poisoning deaths. So far this year we're looking at benzos being detected in about 800 deaths from January to June. So the trend is going the wrong way,” said Parkinson.
According to Parkinson, benzodiazepine’s were detected in 1,099 overdose poisoning deaths in Ontario in 2020. They were also detected in 799 overdose deaths from January to June 2021 in Ontario.
“It lays people out for 10 hours, 12 hours, with no memory of what's happened,” Parkinson said.
Parkinson said the number of overdose deaths continues to trend upwards in Waterloo Region. In 2019, Parkinson said six deaths in Waterloo Region involved benzodiazepines. They were detected in 15 deaths in 2020.
So far in 2021, Parkinson said there have been 111 drug related deaths in Waterloo region from January to September.
"If they see someone overdosing they shoul call 911 and administer nalaxone if appropriate," said Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic. "Also make sure to never use substances alone."
On Monday, British Columbia applied to the federal government to remove criminal penalties for people who possess small amounts of illicit drugs for personal use. Parkinson says Ontario should follow suit, and that there would be fewer overdoses if there were some form of regulation around common street drugs.
