Drugs: Do people really consume what they think is consuming?

In terms of drugs, do people really consume what they think is consuming?

This is the question that the National Institute of Public Health of Quebec (Inspq) is trying to answer, in partnership with the public health of Mauricie and Center-du-Québec, as part of a study.

To do this, 1000 Quebeckers of all ages and a dozen regions of Quebec participated in the study, the objective of which is to characterize the substances contained in people’s urine after the consumption of drugs, in order to determine if people are indeed consuming the illicit substances they think of consuming.

It’s been several years, even decades that we work on this [sur la caractérisation des drogues]. This study is a gold minereports the doctor in public health of the CIUSSS Mauricie-Center-du-Québec (MCQ), Samuel Blain, at the microphone of Always in the morning.

Race result? Consumers do not always know what drugs they hold in their hands.

The stake that we wanted to send here, is the fact that when you consume stimulants or other drugs and buy on the illegal market, the effect is not always expectedsupports the medical adviser.

The proportion of unexpected effects is increasing, regardless of the mode of consumption and regardless of the substance.

In Mauricie and Center-du-Québec in particular, three situations explain this conclusion.

First, consumption methods have changed or are currently changing.

From consumption by injection, consumers turn more towards consumption by nose or by mouth.

This is not necessarily good news.

One might think that it is mainly people who inject themselves who have overdoses, supposes Samuel Blain, but the majority of detected overdoses are by Sniffage.

However, note that in consumers surveyed, all types of consumption have led to overdoses.

The study also shows that cross contamination is a frequent phenomenon when drugs from the illicit market are consumed.

In people who say they consume fentanyl, about 80 % find other substances in their drugs. The stake is that it is not because there are contamination that there are necessarily effects … We can have a small non-significatory dose or a large dose, which will lead to death.

We cannot trust what we buy on the illicit market. What we buy can lead to overdoses in a good proportion of situations.

The advisory doctor also specifies that in the region, almost half of those surveyed had naloxone, a form d’EpiPen des surdoses. Of these, 50 % keep their naloxone kit with them when they consume.

What to remember?

For Samuel Blain, the important thing if you consume is to do it carefully.

You should never consume alone, if you are two, you should not consume at the same time and you must always have naloxone available when you consume.

He specifies that for people who have problems related to drug use, It’s important to go and consult.

According to an interview on the show Always in the morning