Opioid use among kids in Grades 7-12 doubled in 2 years: OPH
The number of children in Grades 7 to 12 using opioids in Ottawa roughly doubled from 2021 to 2023, according to recent data from Ottawa Public Health (OPH) and the Centre for Mental Health and Addiction.
Ten per cent of those students reported using the highly addictive drugs without a prescription in 2021, according to OPH's presentation last Monday to the city's board of health.
In 2023, the most recent year data was available, that number jumped to 20 per cent. It mirrors an Ontario-wide trend, with the percentage for that group jumping from 13 to 22 per cent over the same period.
"It's disappointing to hear, but it's not surprising," said Paige O'Leary, who would once have been included in that statistic.
Now 24 and sober, O'Leary became addicted to opioids as a teenager living in Kanata.
"Just knowing how bad it was when I was in high school, I just can't even imagine how bad it is today," she told CBC.
Several local parents also said they're not surprised by the increase.
Calla Barnett, who attended last week's meeting as a delegate, said she's "known for quite a while" that opioid use is rising.
Her child, a Grade 7 student, has been offered drugs on the street, she said.
"I just don't have words [for the fact] that they're exposed to those things so young," Barnett said. "I'm pretty angry."
'There's just no help'
Paige O'Leary's story reached the headlines in 2017 after her father Sean wrote an open letter about the drug problem among young people in the community.
After it went viral, he tried to advocate for solutions to the opioid crisis, while connecting with other struggling parents.
Part of the problem, he said, is that families even now feel lost trying to navigate a system not designed to treat kids with addictions.
"There's just no help," he said. "And there's still not."
Calla Barnett said the news of rising opioid use among students in Grades 7 and 12 doesn't come as a big shock, noting that her own child in Grade 7 has been approached by people selling drugs. (CBC)
When Sean O'Leary tried to get help for his daughter, he found that addictions treatment services weren't usually designed for children — and that children's services weren't usually designed to manage addiction.
"First thing [parents] do is call CHEO," he said, referring to eastern Ontario's children's hospital.
"Unless your kids tell them they're going to harm themselves or kill themselves, there's nothing CHEO can do. They just let them back out."
To help his daughter break her addiction, Sean O'Leary said he, his wife and his mother-in-law spent three or four days with her at home, watching over her 24/7. There was nowhere in Ottawa to "get detox for a minor," he said.
Paige O'Leary said she remembered long waiting lists to access psychologists and other types of support.
"I'm so lucky to have had my own family to help navigate the system," she said. "Because I can't imagine going through that without them."
Sean O'Leary said that even now, parents of children struggling with addiction feel lost trying to navigate the health-care system. (CBC)
But parents don't have to navigate that system alone, said Trisha Islam, the director for infant, child and youth work at United Way East Ontario.
Parents facing a "complex case" should seek professionals like school guidance counsellors who are connected to the larger network of support and health-care providers, she said.
"Let them navigate the system for you, but come into the system so that we can support you," she said.
There's also mental health and addictions counselling available for students in every public high school in Ottawa, Islam added, as part of an initiative dubbed Project Step.
Prevention efforts needed
For Rideau-Vanier Coun. Stéphanie Plante, who attended the board of health's meeting as a delegate, her priority is to ensure kids never turn to drugs in the first place.
"When I go to the OPH website, I do not see anything about prevention," she said, noting she'd like to see information available for parents about how kids get drugs and what kinds they're accessing.
Barnett and another mother, Anya Fraser, told CBC they were concerned about ensuring drugs from a safer supply site don't reach children.
Several experts have told CBC, however, that the evidence doesn't support the idea that those drugs end up in the hands of young people.
As for Paige O'Leary, she mostly bought drugs from her peers, adding that schools should pay more attention to figure out which kids are selling them.
She also said she didn't know how dangerous those drugs were. Talking more to kids about drugs — and how alcohol can serve as a gateway — would help, she said.
Today, O'Leary still sees a counsellor at Pathways, a treatment centre in Renfrew County. They're a "huge support," she said.
"Even though I'm sober," she said, "I still do struggle sometimes."
READ | Data presented to Ottawa's board of health
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Why is the air quality so bad? What to know about the health dangers of wildfire smoke
In addition to hearts and lungs, wildfire smoke may mess with the human brain, emerging research suggests. Fine particulate matter carried in wildfire smoke can enter the brain via the bloodstream, causing inflammation and oxidative stress, a condition resulting from too many cell-damaging molecules called free radicals and not enough antioxidants to mop them up, one theory holds. Recently, scientists have linked exposure to wildfire smoke to increased risks for impaired cognitive function, memory loss, greater odds of being diagnosed with dementia and an increase in emergency department visits for anxiety, depression, psychotic episodes and other mental-health problems. Plumes of smoke from Prairie wildfires that have forced the evacuation of thousands of people from their homes led to air quality advisories issued for large swaths of the country Friday, with Environment Canada messages covering British Columbia, the Prairies and most of Ontario and Quebec, the Montreal Gazette reported. More toxic than other sources of pollution, wildfire smoke can cause a range of health effects, from mild coughs, itchy eyes and headaches to dizziness, wheezing, chest pains, asthma attacks, shortness of breath and heart palpitations. And when heat and poor air quality combine, the health impacts are reached that much sooner, said Dr. Anna Gunz, a pediatric intensive care doctor at Children's Hospital, London Health Sciences Centre and associate professor at Western University's Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry. While those at the doorstep of fires are most vulnerable, the fine particulates in wildfire smoke can travel 1,000 kilometres or more. The National Post spoke to Gunz to help unpack how wildfire smoke can impact physical and mental health. This conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity and length. We have over 40 years of air pollution health data and so some of this is grounded in the same principles. We love the smell of campfires. But even the smoke that we breathe by a campfire contains lots of particulates that are actually really bad for us. It's not stuff that we're supposed to be breathing. When we think about wildfires, it's not just wood that's been cut from trees that you maybe know. It's everything else that's burning — pesticides, herbicides, metals. Even allergens and fungus. Because it moves so far, you don't need to be right next to a wildfire to be affected. It's high concentrations for shorter periods of time, but it is ubiquitous. Part of the problem with being away from the wildfire is that people don't necessarily realize the air might be bad. It can be really deceiving. And then you have the people who are near the fires who've been evacuated or are at risk of evacuation. And so, the fear, the trauma, the risks of PTSD and other emotional things. People are stressed. I'm always thinking about children and women and those who are vulnerable (such as) Indigenous folks who are disproportionately displaced by wildfires every year and removed from their community. The first contact we have with smoke is our eyes, our mucus membranes, and our upper airways. If we think about breathing in smoke and where it goes next, it goes to our large airways and those are the airways that are affected by asthma. So, certainly the people at highest risk of becoming ill, or more ill and coming into hospital, are anyone with puffers. Asthma, absolutely. But people with COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), cystic fibrosis and lung issues are going to have a harder time breathing. Your eyes and your upper airways and mucus membranes are going to see the larger particles of irritants, and they're going to start reacting to those larger particles. And then the things we can't smell or see, or taste are these small micro-particles, and that's what gets absorbed through our lungs and into our blood stream. And it causes a huge inflammation in the body. That's at least the biological reason why we think that the other things we see in terms of heart and brain health are noted. There's been a lot of research looking at trying to understand the mechanisms in the pathways in your blood vessels that could lead to this. Our blood vessels travel in our brains and in our hearts. Even though we think about heart attacks and stroke differently — they present very differently — ultimately what is happening is your small blood vessels that are either supplying your heart or your brain can become clogged. The lining of our blood vessels is called the endothelium, and it's this really complex place where there are these active living cells. (Endothelial function helps control how well blood is balanced in terms of clotting and how thin it is.) One theorized mechanism is that (exposure to wildfire smoke) activates different inflammatory pathways that affect your endothelium. There is less long-term neural data right now around wildfires. (However, one 10-year study of more than one million people in southern California found persistent exposures to wildfire smoke increased the risk of dementia more than other forms of air pollution. Another group found that wildfire smoke exposure during the 2020 California wildfires was associated with higher odds of subsequent emergency visits for mental health conditions. Inhaled particulate matter, the researchers said, can reach the brain, potentially causing inflammation, oxidative stress and damage to the brain's blood vessels.) When it's hot, you also get secondary air pollutants, like ozone. The heat and the air interact to create more pollution. Anyone with a chronic illness, the elderly and children are always at higher risk. If it's smoky outside, shut the windows, turn on the AC. Know what the air quality is and understand that it changes at different times of the day. If you're going to be outside, try to plan according to air quality (people can check the federal Air Quality Health Index or special air quality statements or advisories for their area). If you're going to be doing something that has more exertion and you're going to be breathing faster, like exercise, better to do that when the air quality is better. An N95 mask can help filter a number of these particles. If you know some kids (with asthma or other lung conditions) are going to be triggered (by the smoke), make sure that the care for the lungs is really under control heading into wildfire season. (ER visits for asthma spiked across Ontario during the 2023 Canadian wildfires.) For people who are living near evacuation zones where they know this happens and they talk about 'go bags,' it's important to think about medications. Ask your doctor to prescribe in such a way that you can have stashes of medicines in your 'go bag' so that if you're evacuated you still have access to them. National Post What we know about the wildfires burning in Canada and sending smoke to the U.S., U.K. Canadian wildfire smoke causes 'very unhealthy' conditions in American Midwest and reaches Europe Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our newsletters here.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
Young and Barnes: A new city bylaw would help prevent heat-related deaths
In the context of rapidly worsening climate change, cities such as Ottawa are on the front lines of the race to protect residents from the threat of summer heatwaves. According to the City of Ottawa's draft Climate Resiliency Strategy, more than one in three residents lack the means to stay cool as temperatures climb during the summer months. They face increased health-related risks. Just as landlords are required by law to ensure indoor temperatures stay above a minimum in the winter, Ottawa — and other Ontario cities — need to urgently pass bylaws setting a maximum indoor temperature. Statistics Canada estimates that around 36 per cent — nearly 150,000 — of Ottawa households are renters. Many have no power to control the temperature in their units. While Ottawa-specific data is scarce, a national survey from ACORN Canada found that 44 per cent of respondents had no access to air conditioning. When other factors are considered, such as old and inefficient building stock, poverty and the rising cost of living, it is no surprise that cooling is out of reach for too many. Let's be clear: When it comes to extreme heat, the risks are here and worsening. The federal government states that 'extreme heat is the leading cause of illness and death from weather-related hazards in Canada.' A recent federal study shows higher-than-average risk of death during stretches of extreme heat in Canada's largest cities over the past 20 years. Risks were particularly high for people aged 65 or older. Extreme heat doesn't just kill; it worsens heart conditions, triggers mental-health crises and heightens the risk of accidents. This reduces quality of life, diminishes economic productivity and adds to the burden on overstretched health systems. We would never accept an apartment without heat in winter. So why do we tolerate deadly indoor heat in the summer? While the reasons behind the detrimental effects of extreme heat are layered and complex, there is a simple logic at its foundation: As a society, we continue to treat cooling as a luxury, rather than the necessity it has become in the face of rapidly accelerating climate change. Effective solutions are within reach. Ontario cities such as Toronto, Mississauga and Kingston are at the forefront of debates around the adoption of maximum indoor temperature bylaws. These enforce a legal upper bound to indoor temperatures, usually around 26 degrees Celsius. While the bylaw debate proceeds, some cities are rolling out stopgap measures, where air conditioning is provided in specific cases. Ottawa needs to join the movement in favour of strong maximum temperature bylaws. In the meantime, more needs to be done to get the word out on existing programs to access cooling devices through the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP), Ontario Works (OW) and Assistance for Children with Severe Disabilities (ACSD), which are available from June 1 to Sept. 15. In short, Ontario physicians or nurse practitioners can write a prescription for a cooling device, allowing eligible tenants to access funds for air-conditioning units. Heat waves have become an inescapable fact of life in a rapidly warming world, but smart policy choices can make a difference now. Every summer we delay costs lives. It's time for Ottawa to treat cooling like the right it has become, and enact measures to close the gap for so many in our city. Now is the time to take the peril out of summer, for everyday residents and for those most vulnerable, living on the front lines of climate change. Dr. Lorin Young (MD, MSc, FRCPC) is a general psychiatrist. Robb Barnes is climate program director for Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE). Our bodies may not be as resilient to heat as we thought, uOttawa study shows Why Ottawa's heat and humidity is more dangerous than it seems
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
Farm day visitors warned over Cryptosporidium parasite threat
Tens of thousands of visitors due to attend a UK-wide open farm day this weekend have been warned about a parasitic infection that causes serious gastrointestinal illness. There were 17 outbreaks of cryptosporidiosis linked to farms in England and Wales in 2024 and an outbreak in south Wales earlier this year has seen dozens of people fall ill. According to inspection reports from the past five years - released to the BBC under the Freedom of Information Act - some farms repeatedly ignored health inspectors' advice and allowed children to handle sick animals in filthy pens. The organisers of Open Farm Sunday, which sees 190,000 visitors, said its farms have high health and safety standards. Cryptosporidium can cause severe stomach cramps, vomiting and diarrhoea and is spread through direct contact with animals or touching surfaces that have animal faeces on them. The young, pregnant women and those with health conditions which affect their immune system can be particularly vulnerable. Public Health Wales said individual cases of cryptosporidiosis linked to visits to Cowbridge Farm Shop at Marlborough Grange Farm in Cowbridge, Vale of Glamorgan, this spring had now risen to 89 people. In England, one of those affected after a farm visit was Emily Fryer's six-year-old son Isaac. He was admitted to hospital after falling ill following a visit to Gannow Farm in Worcestershire last year. Mrs Fryer told the BBC: "He didn't eat or drink for about five days. He just slept all the time. His sugars were dangerously low and they admitted him. "Obviously, I was really worried then. Because he is autistic and non-verbal, we didn't really know how we could help him." Mrs Fryer said the family had taken hygiene seriously when they visited the farm and had washed their hands thoroughly using facilities provided on site. A year earlier the farm had been issued with a prohibition notice by the Health and Safety Executive because it was failing to prevent or control the risk of exposure to cryptosporidium. Those issues were dealt with and the farm was licensed to show animals to the public in 2024. Mrs Fryer said she was disappointed that the farm had been allowed to reopen to visitors. "I just think it's awful," she said. The owners of the farm, which has now stopped its open days, declined to comment when approached by the BBC but have previously said they had "made every precaution possible" to prevent an outbreak. Many farms across the UK have had to diversify their businesses over recent years to boost their profitability, with public open days, petting farms and play barns becoming an important source of income. But inspection reports released to the BBC under the Freedom Information Act by the UK's national cryptosporidium reference unit show that a small number of farms are not meeting health and safety standards - and, in extreme cases, are ignoring warnings from inspectors. On one farm in Wales, which was linked to a number of outbreaks, inspectors found sick animals kept on display and a lack of handwashing facilities, risk assessments and staff training. According to reports, the inspectors told the farm those failings were "consistent with those identified previously. This indicates you are failing to maintain the required improvements from one season to the next". Another farm visited in 2023 had also failed to implement recommendations from a previous inspection, which led to another outbreak of cryptosporidiosis, while another farm, due to host a school visit a few days after inspection, was found to be failing. "Comparing current visit to last year found the conditions worse," the report noted. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said the 16 outbreaks in England last year was a provisional figure and data analysis due to be published later in the month may see that rise. Both Public Health Wales and the UKHSA have warned the estimated 190,000 visitors who will be visiting the 250 farms taking part in Open Farm Sunday this weekend to make sure they take basic hygiene measures. Jo Hatton, an education specialist for organisers of the open farm event LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming), said all its participating farmers were given advice and training on how best to keep visitors safe. "We are supporting farmers to open their farms and with their risk assessments. We are on the phone with farmers checking in with them throughout the planning process and helping them to understand how to ensure that that visit goes smoothly and everyone goes home happy and healthy," she explained. One farm manager who says he is ensuring the highest health and safety standards for visitors on Sunday is Andy Bason, who will be welcoming around 2,000 visitors onto Newhouse Farm, Alresford, Hampshire. He said LEAF's health and safety training had "really opened my eyes to what's needed to host this kind of event". "With the kind of numbers we see, it is a huge task. We want everyone to come here, have a great day and go home safe without any illness," he explained. The National Farmers' Union (NFU) said that the health and safety of all visitors to farms was "taken extremely seriously". Number of people ill from petting farm hits 89 Infection causes girl to lose half her body weight Family attraction confirms outbreak of sickness bug
