Following the publication of the Local Preparedness for Synthetic Opioids in England report, Cranstoun has welcomed further recommendation and guidance for Combatting Drugs Partnerships, but has continued the call for further measures which will help to prevent drug-related harm and deaths.
In North America, both the US and Canada called public health emergencies because of the severity of the issue of synthetic opioids, and we believe that recommendations to make us better prepared are still being missed. The crisis there is so severe that the former homeland security secretary in the US described synthetic opioid overdoses as ‘the single greatest challenge we face as a country’.
In the US, drug deaths there have risen by around 147% in just a decade from 2013-2023 – with 115,592 dying from drugs in 2023 alone across both countries – and there is no sign that this problem is going away.
The latest data available for the UK shows that nitazenes were linked to 179 deaths over a 12 month period between 1 June 2023 and 31 May 2024. This is a marked increase on the first six months where just 54 deaths were recorded. It is known there is a lag in the recording of data, and that deaths related to nitazenes were likely not logged as such, given that they were not tested for routinely in postmortem examinations.
Commenting on the report, director of new business & services at Cranstoun, Megan Jones, said, ‘We welcome the measures in this report, so far as they relate to reporting and data sharing, and working to expand the carriage of naloxone.
‘However, it is disappointing that there seems to be a lack of ambition when it comes to really getting upstream and preventing the harm which synthetic opioids pose to our communities.
‘Some simple recommendations, which we announced back in the summer of 2023, would allow all organisations working to prevent harm caused by drugs to work more effectively. The Home Affairs Select Committee published a comprehensive report on drugs in 2023, which made some similar recommendations which have not been acknowledged in this report.
‘Expanding drug checking and testing services would go a long way to provide more rapid responses to changes in local drug supplies, allowing all partners to respond effectively.
‘We welcome discussions which providers had as part of the exercises around overdose prevention sites in areas where there are significant issues. We believe that these sites, as all of the global evidence suggests, would save lives and prevent harm.
‘We note that the UK government currently has no plans to change the Misuse of Drugs Act, however these facilities could still operate without changes to this legislation. There are also several evidence-based schemes which in the UK, have been evaluated positively, yet are not being considered for expansion.
‘We’re concerned that – given drug deaths impact the people from the most deprived areas significantly more – this could lead to greater pressure on emergency and wider health services. This is why we need to see more measures put in place to help us prevent harm from these highly dangerous substances.
‘Without having a greater number of tools in our arsenal to respond to synthetic opioids, it can feel like we are trying to reduce harm with our hands tied behind our backs. Getting ahead of the curve is essential and it feels that time is slipping away unless we see rapid changes in our national response.’
This blog was originally published by Cranstoun. You can read the original post here.
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