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OPP officers have saved 102 lives using naloxone since 2017

Severity of the opioid crisis is evident in the increase of opioid-related overdoses and the number of incidences where officers have had to administer naloxone
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NEWS RELEASE
ONTARIO PROVINCIAL POLICE
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The Ontario Provincial Police has saved 102 lives using naloxone, since frontline officers began carrying it in Sep. 2017.

The severity of the opioid crisis is evident in the increase of opioid-related overdoses and the number of incidences where officers have had to administer naloxone to save a life.

Key statistical information from Sept. 2017 to Nov. 2019 includes:

  • The majority, 66 per cent, of naloxone recipients were male and 34 per cent were female.
  • The average age of naloxone recipients was 31.5 for females and 32 for males.
  • Most incidences occurred inside a residence.
  • The majority of opioid-related overdoses occurred in OPP's Central and West Regions.
  • There was a 121 per cent increase in overdose occurrences attended by the OPP from 2016 to 2018.

The OPP continues to save lives by providing victims with referrals to community specific resources and advising the public about harmful substances. See opp.ca/opioids for additional information.

Additionally, the OPP is determined to hold drug traffickers accountable by laying charges for drug-related deaths. Charges have been laid for manslaughter and criminal negligence causing death in relation to fatal overdoses, with 13 occurrences during the last four years. Eight of these occurred in 2019.

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