A study by an Alberta Crown Corporation could shift the way opioid overdose cases are handled after data linked those medical events to a higher risk of irreversible brain damage and early death, with teenagers particularly vulnerable. This interview for Episode 34 with the CEO of the organization CoRE, Kym Kaufmann, was the basis of our report on the study in The Winnipeg Sun this week – Bombshell study links opioid ODs to irreversible brain damage
Part 1- Marty provides an update on the surge in donations to the Season 7 Funding Drive- now over $3600 – and a recap of his most recent newspaper columns:
Winnipeg losing whack-a-mole game as illegal encampments flourish
Once a gem now a hazard, riverwalk faces ongoing neglect
West Broadway encampment explosions, raging fire the result of a lack of political courage
9.02 Part 2- Officials from the Canadian Centre for Recovery Excellence (CoRE) sent a Letter to the Editor published in the journal Addiction, entitled ‘The silent consequence of overdose: The case for brain injury-informed opioid treatment’, after their study of patient data from British Columbia.
As Kym Kaufmann, a co-signer of the letter explains, they determined opioid overdoses can cause immediate brain damage, especially in teens- and this information is not considered in current treatment guidelines.
The letter summarizes that “within 1 year of a first overdose, adults have a 6% risk of diagnosed brain injury, while those under 19 years of age face a greater risk (10%).”
She discusses why the Canadian Centre for Recovery Excellence study should lead to an increased emphasis on helping addicts get off drugs in the first place.
That’s because reviving addicts from overdoses may save them from death, but can also result in accumulating repeated brain injuries that affect mental health, heighten dysfunction and can result in public disorder and safety emergencies.
In Alberta, “we ‘re rethinking how we respond to over dose events. Over dose events lead to brain injury. Multiple overdoses result in cumulative brain injury, so we think about preventing the next overdose – and not just reversing it.”
23.48 Part 3 – Marty asks about the downstream effect of current guidelines not recognizing that brain injury treatment should be part of addictions medicine.
“it’s a growing epidemic… we can also help alleviate the burden on the health system by helping to intervene sooner.”
30.45- Kaufmann, a former Deputy Minister of Health in Manitoba, explains the origins of controversial government “harm reduction” policies and cautions that moving forward, policies must be focused on “Truly reducing harms for individuals and for society”.
Hear about how needle exchange programs abandoned the ‘return’ part in favour of becoming a needle distribution program.
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In the Sun on Sunday– the story of a Grade 6 boy’s work this summer in Transcona to raise money to expand his small neighborhood business, with the help of his younger brother and grandmother.
Coming in September– more civic election candidate interviews; the results of a Freedom of Information filing (or two); and a Crime, Courts, and Public Safety update episode.
HAVE A GREAT LONG WEEKEND!