Windsor overdoses spike for second time in a week

For the second week in a row, overdoses in Windsor have spiked. The Windsor-Essex Community Opioid and Substance Strategy tracks the numbers and issued two alerts this month. Between October 4th and 10th, local emergency departments treated 31 opioid overdoses, more than half involving fentanyl. Frontline workers say the unpredictability of street drugs plays a part in the numbers. I do drug testing often, and we see a lot of different substances So somebody will say they use just one certain substance and when we'll test, we will see like three or four different substances that come up. And a lot of those combinations could be deadly. The executive director of Positive Pathways Community Services told CBC News that 70% of opioid toxicity deaths occur in private residences. The majority of deaths are men, but the number of deaths for women are on the rise. Most are between the ages of 30 and 59. This overdose spike comes as Ontario's medical regulator approves major changes to safer supply prescribing. As of Tuesday, the College of Physicians and Surgeons will now require patients to take prescribed opioids like methadone under supervision, banning take-home doses to prevent street diversion. Windsor's medical officer of health says these restrictions could create danger. We need to be aware of negative unintended consequences of the policy, which one of them can be increasing the number of overdoses in one region. But if those infrastructure is not placed, it might be a barrier to care. While the Positive Pathways executive director says the overdose spikes from this month are alarming, he says the number of deaths have declined slightly from the same period last year. Justin Escoto, CBC News, Windsor.