Student advocacy group calls for naloxone to be readily available at post-secondary institutions
The BC Federation of Students hopes naloxone training and accessibility will save students’ lives
Naloxone is a life-saving medicine that reverses an opioid overdose. (Pexels/NEXT Distro)
The British Columbia Federation of Students (BCFS) is advocating for post-secondary institutions across the province to have naloxone, a life-saving medicine that rapidly reverses an opioid overdose, readily available on campuses as an effective emergency response system.
The student advocacy group is calling for post-secondary institutions to act now instead of waiting until provincial legislation is decided upon following the death of a University of Victoria (UVic) student to a fentanyl overdose in her dorm room in January. University staff did not administer naloxone in time to save the student.
“The event that happened at [UVic] is tragic .… By making naloxone widely available and educating the campus community on its use, we can transform our campuses into a safer, more responsive environment,” says Cole Reinbold, BCFS secretary-treasurer.
“This, at the end of the day, is about saving lives and ensuring that every student has the opportunity to thrive without fear of an unaddressed crisis.”
In addition to availability, the BCFS is calling for post-secondary institutions to work with authorities and community partners to provide training on how to administer the medication and recognize the signs of an overdose.
They hope having naloxone training and availability on campuses will prevent deaths in the future.
“We propose naloxone kits be installed in clearly marked and accessible locations across campuses, just like fire extinguishers .… Anywhere where students gather, we envision bright, unmistakable signage guiding students to these kits, ensuring that everyone knows where to find them in an emergency,” Reinbold says.
“While it would be lovely to see provincial legislation on this, right now, the onus is on the institutions to be spearheading this and putting naloxone in before the province tells them to do so.”
Some Kwantlen Polytechnic University students say having naloxone training on campus is the only way an initiative like this would make sense, especially for many who do not know what naloxone is or what it does.
“I think there should be work workshops to make people aware about what [it is] because I didn’t know about it,” says KPU business student Ramneek Kaur.
“I think if there is a resource available, we need to know how to use it.”
Other students feel that increasing availability of naloxone is not going to help the province’s ongoing drug crisis and could have the opposite effect.
“It’s a good idea, but then the government knows that there is [a] problem that’s going on, … and instead of taking it out of the room, we are just getting another solution,” says Sukhmanpreet Parmar, a KPU marketing student.
“It [will] enhance it more to be very honest. People [will think], ‘Oh, they have this so we can do it .… I’m not going to die. I can have the drugs because they can reverse it.’”
Business student Anureet Kaur feels that drug overdose is not a big problem at the university.
“I don’t think people come to campus high. So I don’t think there [are] chances of overdosing at the campus,” Anureet says.
The BCFS says the opioid crisis does not stop at campus doors and needs to be addressed by post-secondary institutions.
“Campuses are quite literally micro-representations of societies,” Reinbold says. “Making naloxone accessible to all students and staff will point-blank save lives. It’s a necessary step in creating a safer campus environment.”
The BCFS is encouraging students to get involved with student governments and voice their opinion on naloxone availability and training on campus.
For more information on naloxone, including its usage and effects, visit the Government of Canada’s website.
