Addiction

manifests in any behavior that a person finds temporary pleasure or relief in and therefore craves, suffers negative consequences from, and has trouble giving up

-- Gabor Mate

Selkirk's Mission

As a health promoting post-secondary institution, Selkirk College seeks to create a campus culture that encourages employees and students to engage in healthy relationships with substances.

Recognizing that there may be a broad range of behaviors and patterns of substance use among its employees and students, Selkirk College seeks to support dialogue and inquiry while regulating use on campus and at campus functions

(Selkirk College, n.d.).

When individuals use substances or drugs often, they can develop physical or psychological symptoms of dependency. This is a key indicator of addiction. However, many people believe that addiction only occurs with illicit substances. This is a myth. Food, smoking, and even physical activity can be addicting. The problem with addiction is that it disrupts the individual's ability to maintain a healthy life . Over recent years, there has been increasing attention on addiction, which has lead to more services being available for treatment. However, knowing where to go and how to get treatment is not always clear. Healthy campus is here to help.

-- CMHA, n.d.

Addiction

Approximately 21% of the Canadian population (6 million people) will have met criteria for addiction in their lifetime (CMHA, n.d.).

Marijuana

40% of Canadians report having used cannabis in their lifetime; 10% within the last year (CMHA, n.d.).

Alcohol

Alcohol is the most common substance for addiction. 18% of Canadians are have substance use issues with alcohol (CMHA, n.d.).

Cocaine

Among Canadian 20-24 year olds, 9% reported cocaine use in 2019 (CCSUA).

Facts: You are not alone...

Oral Opioids

Approximately 11.8% of Canadians use opioids, a strong pain reliever (CCSUA, 2020).

Ecstacy

5.5% of Canadians aged 20-24 reported using ecstasy (CCSUA, 2022).

Meth

Methamphetamine use is only 0.2% in Canada (CCSUA, 2020).

Sedatives

In Canada, the highest rates of sedative use is among older adults (65+) and among females (CCSUA, 2022).

Opioid Awareness

Key individuals have been trained in the use of Naloxone at Selkirk College and it can be found in designated locked locations on Campus, stored according to manufacturing instruction.

What to do if you witness or suspect an overdose at Selkirk College:

Call 911
Alert campus first aid (calls must be made from campus landline phones)
Follow SAVE ME protocol (see below)
Stay with individual until further help arrives

Castlegar campus #21911
Silverking campus #13911
KSA campus #13299
10th Street campus #11911
Trail campus # 250-368-5236

Naloxone

Naloxone is a medication that reverses the effects of an overdose from opioids (heroine, methadone, fentanyl, morphine)

How to use Naloxone: SAVE ME protocol

S - Stimulate: Check if the person is responsive, can you wake them up?

A - Airway: Make sure there is nothing in the mouth blocking the airway, or stopping them from breathing.

V - Ventilate: Help them breath. Plug the nose, tilt the head back and give one breath every five seconds.

E - Evaluate: Do you see any improvement? Proceed to the next step (if trained to give Naloxone) or continue with ventilations.

M - Muscular injection: Inject one dose (1cc) of naloxone into a muscle. Click here to learn more about Naloxone and how to safely administer it.

E - Evaluate and support: Is the person breathing? If they are not awake in 5 minutes, give one more 1cc dose of Naloxone. Continue with ventilatory rescue breaths in between.

(Selkirk College, n.d.)

What is Fentanyl?

Fentanyl is a synthetic narcotic that is 50-100 times more potent than other opioids, such as morphine, heroine, or oxycodone. Although it can be a commonly used in a medical setting for severe pain, the Fentanyl found in illicit substances is often lethal. The amount of fentanyl found in non-pharmaceutical grade drugs, such as cocaine, heroin, oxycodone, is unregulated. The equivalent of 2 grains of salt, which is about 2 milligrams of fentanyl, is a lethal dose.

Because Fentanyl can easily be mass-produced and transported, it is becoming more commonly found in multiple types of illicit drugs. Most commonly Fentanyl is found in heroine, cocaine, crystal meth, as well as illicit oxys, codeine, and morphine. In a recent study done in the Vancouver East Side, 86% of street drugs tested positive for Fentanyl.

What are the effects of Fentanyl?

Fentanyl works by binding to the opioid receptors in the brain that control pain and emotion. These are the same receptors that are found in the area of the brain that control your breathing rate. Fentanyl acts on these opioid receptors and can cause breathing to stop completely, which can then lead to death.

Signs of and opioid overdose:
Breathing will be slow or absent
Lips and nails are blue (or turning blue)
Person is not moving
Person may be choking
May hear gurgling sounds or snoring
Person unable to be woken up S
kin feels cold and clammy
Pupils are tiny
Slow heart beat
Person has trouble walking or talking

(Selkirk college, n.d.)

Use where help is easily available
Be aware of the signs of an overdose
Call 9-1-1 right away if an overdose is suspected
Speak to an experienced person or trusted health care professional about reducing the risk of overdose
Carry a Naloxone kit and know how to use it

Harm reduction approach to Fentanyl:

If you use drugs purchased from the illicit market, occasionally or regularly, these tips can help to reduce or even prevent an overdose.

Don’t use alone.
Leave the door unlocked.
Have someone check on you
Do testers to check strength
Use less
Pace yourself
Avoid mixing substances with alcohol

Off-Campus Addictions Resources

Click any one of the images below to access addiction support for mobile.

IAmSober

A mobile app available on Android and iPhone that allows you to track your sober days, milestones, and engage with a community of individuals who just get it.

Squirrel Recovery

An Android app made specifically for individuals who are addicted to heroin, featuring positive reinforcements and social support to help maintain recovery.

SoberTool

A mobile app available on Android and iPhone that was developed by a Harvard addictions counsellor. The app features motivational messages, search engine, tools to avoid relapse, a chat forum, and more.

Nomo Sobriety

An app available on Android and iPhone, created by someone in recovery for people in recovery. The app features sobriety clocks (down to the minute), as well as financial counter of savings during recovery and social media connections.

Sober Grid

An app available on Android and iPhone that features social networking with other sober individuals, tracks recovery, and counts days of sobriety.

QuitNow

An app available on Android and iPhone that tracks cigarettes not smoked, money saved, and life and time earned back from quitting smoking. You can also track achievements as you get healthier!

Additional off-campus resources:

Adult Substance Use Services & Resources | Health & Wellness | IH (interiorhealth.ca)

SMART recovery hosts online support meetings - smartrecovery.org

Alcoholics Anonymous - AA West Kootenays

Changes at Selkirk: Post-Cannabis Legalization

The following recommendations are now in place regarding Selkirk College’s response cannabis legalization as of October 17, 2018:

In keeping with Selkirk College policy statements about alcohol use, cannabis will be included in policies where needed using similar language as is used regarding alcohol except in the case of “Serving and Consumption of Alcohol” (Policy #4310). At this time, Selkirk College will not be serving or selling cannabis at any college functions.
Rather than focusing on the substance itself, it is widely seen as less prescriptive and more in keeping with a health promotion perspective to focus on behaviors.
Recognizing that the prohibition and policing of substance use is not only antithetical to the principles of health promotion and harm reduction, it is proposed that cannabis use be viewed in the same way as alcohol use in regards to student housing. Alcohol is permitted within dorm rooms for students who are of legal age but the sale and advertising of alcohol is policed. It is expected that the same rules will apply to cannabis, except for the location of use. Smoking/vaping is not permitted in dorm rooms, so the smoking and/or vaping of cannabis will only be permitted in designated smoking areas with the rationale that this is the student’s home, therefore they should be allowed to use legal substances as long as their use does not negatively impact fellow students.
Since Selkirk College does not allow the consumption of alcohol in other areas adjacent to or within the college, cannabis will also not be permitted in these areas or in the designated smoking areas adjacent to the college proper. This differs from the use of tobacco in that cannabis is a psycho-active substance. All federal, provincial and municipal regulations regarding cannabis use must be adhered to on Selkirk College property and at all college functions.
As a charter member of the 2015 Okanagan Charter: An international charter for health promoting universities and colleges, Selkirk College is committed to the promotion of health literacy. In relationship to cannabis use among Selkirk College employees and students, the college will strive to understand the campus culture within which substance use exists, provide educational initiatives to inform the college community, and engage in meaningful dialogue about substance use. Selkirk College will also provide resources to assist employees and students who may find themselves in an unhealthy relationship with cannabis.
If medical use is required, Selkirk College will defer to the accommodation policy.

In response to cannabis legalization in Canada, Selkirk College has consulted with the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research (CISUR) and with colleagues from across Canada and the United States at the recent Canadian Association of College & University Student Services (CACUSS) in Prince Edward Island.