Narcotics task force formed in Dryden

News — 30 November 2010

In response to concerns raised throughout Dryden and surrounding communities, a number of community services and stakeholders have joined forces to address the misuse and abuse of narcotics in our communities.

A diverse group of stakeholders, including physicians, police, pharmacists, educators, representatives from First Nations communities and many community service providers have formed a task force approximately a year ago and are committed to addressing the issues surrounding this apparent abuse of narcotics.

In the month of August, 7,337 Oxycontin tablets were dispensed through Dryden Pharmasave with a total of 100 prescriptions. The average of four other Pharmasave pharmacies in various communities similar in size to Dryden for the month of August was 289.5 pills dispensed with 4.5 prescriptions.

A survey was done of Manitoba Wal-mart pharmacies in communities similar in size and demographics for the month of August showed a total number of pills dispensed in 13 pharmacies of 2,600 tablets with an average of 200 tablets dispensed per pharmacy.

“We wanted to get a sense of where we were in relation to other communities, and when we had other relief pharmacists coming to the area, they were really surprised by the amount of narcotics that we held in our stores, and they were surprised by the amounts being prescribed and going out,” says Robert Button, Pharmacists for Dryden Pharmasave and co-chair of the Narcotics Task Force.

Button says the addiction to Oxycontin has many factors, including the potency of the drug, which is much stronger than most narcotics, causing the value of the drug to be so high.

Button speculates on the reason for the high number of Oxy’s being prescribed by saying, “It’s probably a number of issues, which elude to their type of work, the forestry industry, they might have chronic pain that could be a little higher in this area compared to others. I’m not entirely sure, and it’s one of those things that over the years has just gotten out of hand.”

“Pain is the biggest complaint that brings a patient to an emergency room or a doctor’s office, it’s the number one complaint,” says Button.

“These individuals who are using fair means or foul to try to get their drugs, and a number of physicians have been duped by fairly manipulative people that know what they’re doing.”

Button says there are no non-narcotic drugs that can control pain the way a narcotic can, but the community offers other avenues to treat addiction and pain. He mentions the methadone clinic in the community, and hopes that people will take advantage of the program they offer.

“Unfortunately, there is no ceiling dose on narcotics. What seems to be an unrealistically high dose to some people is really what’s required to control their pain,” explains Button. “So, if somebody from outside the medical community sees a really high dose, they immediately become concerned with the huge amount and milligram strength that this person is taking. It may very well be that that’s what they need to control their pain, so not everyone who’s on a high dose is a problem. Some people need that level to get their pain under control.”

The task force is currently working on increasing the communications between partners, and identifying the areas where the partners are lacking. The force is also working on educating the community and getting the message out to the younger generations in a more meaningful way.

The task force has four subgroups among them, including Harm Reduction, Prevention, Treatment and Enforcement.

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