Folk festival stocks up on naloxone kits

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This article was published 06/07/2017 (3028 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

For the first time, naloxone kits will be available at the Winnipeg Folk Festival in case attendees overdose on opioids.

Festival spokeswoman Kelly Romas said Thursday any of the event’s 60 first-aid volunteers can administer the medication that reverses the effect of an opioid overdose, which can slow down or stop a person’s breathing.

More than 100 Manitobans die from overdose every year and opioids are the drug most often involved, says Street Connections, the Winnipeg-based health agency that supports harm-reduction and provides health care to people on the street.

So far, it hasn’t been a problem at the family-friendly annual music festival at Birds Hill Provincial Park, organizers say.

“We’ve never had any opioid overdoses,” said festival protection and wellness co-ordinator Paul Laporte, who was a full-time paramedic for 17 years. “The problems here, like the majority of problems in society, are linked to alcohol.”

In the last year, Winnipeg politicians, police and emergency responders have described the opioid situation as a crisis and an “epidemic.” The danger of opioid overdose has been ramped up with the arrival of fentanyl and carfentanil — powerful and potentially deadly painkillers that are often mixed with street drugs, though users may be unaware of their presence in substances they’re using.

Folk fest organizers want to be prepared with naloxone in case such an incident occurs at Birds Hill. The 2017 edition of the festival began Thursday and runs through Sunday night.

“It’s like having a fire extinguisher in your house,” Laporte said. “You don’t want your house to catch fire, but you want to be prepared if it does.”

Naloxone blocks the effects of opioids, assisting emergency responders in their efforts to help an overdose victim breathe. “It’s the airway treatment and airway protection and ventilation that keeps them alive,” Laporte said.

The festival purchased 12 naloxone kits to add to the first-aid volunteers’ list of equipment. Some are $160 nasal kits; others are $120 injection kits.

Laporte expects the heat will be the biggest health concern this weekend. Environment Canada forecasts sunshine for Friday, with a high UV index, a high of 28 C and a humidex of 30.

“Everybody gets out there and they’re having a great time and they forget to drink water and wear a hat,” Laporte said. “Generally, on the first day, we see heat exhaustion and sunburns.”

Throughout the campground and festival site just east of Winnipeg, there are shaded areas and cooling stations “that look like multiheaded showers” where people can chill out in a refreshing mist, he said.

Romas also reminded festival-goers to take care of themselves.

“Everyone needs to stay hydrated, wear a hat and sunscreen, eat well and have the best weekend of their lives,” she said.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca