Page 32 - GBC summer ENG 2023

Between January 2016 and September 2022, Canada experienced almost 35,000 opioid toxicity deaths. Opioid related toxicity deaths averaged 10 per day in 2019 and were double in 2022. This crisis has also affected the United States, and communities across Canada continue to struggle. The government in provinces like British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario have introduced legislation aimed at helping improve the situation. Golf courses, like other workplaces, are not immune to this crisis and are now subject to specific regulations.
THE SHIFT IN OPIOID USE
The overdose crisis is a result of a shift in users’ drug preference, from pharmaceutical grade opioids
(e.g., oxycontin, morphine, hydromorphone) to much more potent synthetic opioids like fentanyl (100x more potent) and other ultra-potent synthetics that in some cases are 10,000 times more potent than morphine. These substances are significantly more potent than their pharmaceutical counterparts, leading to a dramatic increase in toxicity and overdose rates.
Greater than 90% of current overdoses are unintentional and 99% are the result of ultra-potent fentanyl synthetics (carfentanil and others) that are referred to as powdered fentanyl. Only a few grains of powder have the potential to cause an opioid toxicity and death. For reference purposes, a 2mg dose of carfentanil
will knock out an elephant. This same 2mg has the potential to cause 50 to 100 people to overdose.
It is important to understand that the way drugs are ingested has also changed. While many people think of heroin and injectable drugs when discussing illicit opiate use, most are used via inhalation. As a pharmacist working in withdrawal management for the past 15 years, I can attest that the crisis continues to worsen.
BUSINESS OBLIGATIONS AND POTENTIAL LIABILITY
The Ontario Government has enacted the “Working for Workers Act, 2022” requiring employers to have Naloxone on site where there is knowledge of opioid use and or potential for employees to be exposed.
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Golf Business Canada
Marcel Laporte
Marcel is the Director of Pharmacy at BMC Pharmacies in Southwestern Ontario. He has been a pharmacist for over 20 years and has been primarily working in addiction/saving lives past 12 years. Their website offers many resources including a section on Naloxone kits and training at BMCPharmacy.ca. Contact Marcel at mlaporte@fulcrum.ca.