EDMONTON - More than two dozen walk-in clinics across Alberta can now prescribe and supply a drug that temporarily reverses the effects of a fentanyl overdose.
Naloxone kits buy a user time to seek potentially life-saving medical treatment.
Alberta Health Services says it is distributing 4,000 take-home kits to 29 clinics and eight harm reduction sites in response to a rapid rise in fentanyl-related deaths.
There were 272 overdose deaths involving fentanyl in Alberta last year -- up from 120 in 2014.
Fentanyl, an opioid 50 to 100 times more potent than heroin or morphine, is a prescribed painkiller that is often added to illegal drugs.
The naloxone kits contain two vials of naloxone, syringes, alcohol swabs, latex gloves, a breathing mask and instructions.
