The school district is actively working with Ottawa Public Health and Ottawa Police Services to raise awareness about drug use in our community. We all need to be concerned about the recent rapid increase in opioid use in Ottawa.
Parents are a child’s best defense against drug use. The top two things that a parent or guardian can do is to be informed about drug issues and talk to your kids about drugs. Make sure that you secure prescription medications in your home - two-thirds of Ottawa students who used prescription drugs got the drug from someone they live with.
For more information, including tips for talking to your kids about drugs, information on opioids including fentanyl, how to spot an overdose, what to do in an overdose, and where to get naloxone go to Youth and Opioids: What Parents Need to Know on Ottawa Public Health’s Parenting in Ottawa website.
Know the facts:
· Canada has the second-highest level of prescription opioid use globally. Although these drugs have therapeutic purposes, they have a high likelihood for misuse because of their risk for psychological and physical dependence
· Prescription opioids are misused more than most illegal drugs in Ottawa, and were involved in about 45% of drug overdose deaths between 2009 and 2011. Fentanyl, for the first time in 2014, was the leading cause of death due to unintentional opioid overdose death in Ottawa.
· If you have prescription drugs at home, lock them up and check regularly for missing medications - 13% of Ottawa high school students used prescription drugs non- medically and two-thirds of students got the drug from a parent, sibling or someone else they live with.