Luseland businesses take safety precautions
By Joan Janzen
LUSELAND—On February 6th, Cst. Kohlman gave a presentation on business safety and security to residents of Luseland and the area. Marita Obrigewitch, owner of SkyLine Convenience, was also in attendance. When the topic of drugs came up amongst the crowd, one of the attendees said they had a Narcan kit at home.
Some business owners at Luseland have decided to order Narcan kits after attending a local community business safety and security session.
Marita, who had always wanted a kit in her business, was eager to receive the information needed on how to get one. Before long, she had lined up the Addiction Counsellor from Unity to bring Narcan kits for businesses and individuals who wanted them.
“They need to be ordered first, and we will go from there,” Marita explained. Any business or individual ordering a kit will need to complete a fifteen-minute session with the Addictions Counsellor on how to use the kit. The information session will be scheduled and may be one-on-one or in a group setting, depending on how many people are interested.
“Currently, I have six businesses interested, which is amazing because this is all very short notice,” she said. The kits are free of charge and have a two-year expiry. If you ever need a replacement kit after its expiration, the Addictions Counsellor will replace it free of charge.
Narcan is a brand name of Naloxone, which is a fast-acting medication used to reverse the effects of opioid overdoses temporarily. It can begin to take effect within two minutes. If a response to an initial dose is not seen within 2-3 minutes, subsequent doses can safely be given. Naloxone only works if you have opioids in your system, such as fentanyl, heroin, morphine and codeine.
Naloxone is only active in the body for 30-120 minutes, which means the effects are likely to wear off before the opioids are gone from the body. Therefore, Naloxone may need to be used again.
Naloxone is safe for all ages, and is safe to keep a kit on hand. There are two types of kits: a nasal spray kit and an injectable kit, which is injected into any muscle in the body such as the arm or thigh.