Overdose education should be mandatory in B.C. schools amid opioid crisis, advocates say

published on September 6, 2022 by Camille Bains in CBC News

When a teenage girl collapsed on the SkyTrain in Coquitlam, B.C., passengers calling 911 thought she had fainted or was having an epileptic seizure.

It was only when paramedics administered naloxone that some realized she’d overdosed on an opioid, said Chloe Goodison, who was sitting beside her.

“She shot back to life,” recalled Goodison, who was jarred by the thought that a girl who seemed about her own age of 16 could have died, with no one around her immediately able to help.

It was a life-changing moment for Goodison, who would be inspired to study health sciences and set up a group called NaloxHome that educates high school students about what an overdose looks like and how to use naloxone.

The Simon Fraser University (SFU) student is among a number of advocates who deliver overdose education in B.C. schools but want such information made a mandatory part of the curriculum…