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The evening centred on a screening of a new film called Prescription for Addiction in which Thunder Bay is featured as one of the communities in Ontario facing a sharp increase in drug abuse cases involving Percocet, OxyContin, and other prescription pain medications. Nancy Black, manager of Addiction Programs at St. Joseph‘s Care Group, said that there was a sharp rise in the number of people in Thunder Bay seeking help for addiction to prescription opiates between 2002 and 2004. That has since levelled off due to new programs and resources, she said, but still 30 per cent of those seeking help for drug addiction list prescription opiates as their primary drug of choice. Black is one of the collaborators on the film, which shows how and why prescription drug abuse happens, and how it affects users, their families, and the whole community. As the film points out, the route to addiction isn‘t always through recreational use like cocaine or heroin. Many people become addicted after being prescribed drugs for pain management; for example, after a car accident or during an illness. One woman on the panel, who asked to be referred to simply as “Brenda,” first started taking Percocet to manage her pain associated with a clubfoot. Once addicted, she said, she was embarrassed to ask for help. “It‘s a big fear of judgment or condemnation by society,” she said. “But then it has to get to the point where the pain is greater than that fear.” She said that the stigma of being labelled a drug addict can keep people from seeking help. The stigma is unfounded though, said Dr. Lois Hutchinson, chief of psychiatry at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre and another member of the panel. “This can happen to you under certain circumstances,” she said. “People should be treated as if this were any kind of medical illness.” Patricia Hajdu, drug strategy co-ordinator for the steering committee, agreed. “We have to stop thinking about this as something that is happening to ’those people over there‘ who have made bad choices in life,” Hajdu said. “Instead, we have to reach out to people who are suffering. There are people in immense pain. Not just people who are suffering with addiction, but their family members and the community. People are crying out for solutions.” That‘s the purpose of the steering committee, to find solutions, Hajdu said. Chaired by Thunder Bay city councillor Rebecca Johnson, the committee includes members from several community groups including addiction agencies, law enforcement agencies, aboriginal groups, health organizations, and the City of Thunder Bay. “We have fantastic representation on the steering committee,” Hajdu said. “I have great hope that we‘ll be able to make some recommendations and move forward as a community.” In some ways, the problem is worse in communities outside of Thunder Bay where there just are not the services to deal with the epidemic. Angela Nodin, the health co-ordinator in Whitesand First Nation, said she drove three hours to attend the presentation because she wanted to learn more about prescription drug abuse to educate her community. “When you‘re in a small community, you don‘t have those resources,” Nodin said. “Programs like Methadone treatments are not available, and counselling services are limited. We have a small health clinic in Armstrong, and other than that we have public education.” Hajdu said that the committee will soon have its own website at thunderbaydrugstrategy.ca. Top of Page |
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September 2, 2010, 8:22 am |