A drug prevention strategy is up for debate at Chatham-Kent council on Monday.
Councillor Brock McGregor made a motion in August saying a municipal drug strategy is necessary because it is estimated that injection drug use in Chatham-Kent is up to four times greater than the national average.
A report going before councillors on Monday night states the leading problem substance reported by clients were prescription opioids, followed by alcohol, and then cannabis but crystal methamphetamine remains the most prevalent use according to multiple local agencies that deal with drug addiction.
The report suggests that ongoing challenges around addressing crystal methamphetamine use include a lack of available resources for service providers, a lack of evidence-based treatment options, and a lack of knowledge and experience around how to effectively work with those who use crystal methamphetamine.
The author of the report, Director of Public Health Teresa Bendo, said a comprehensive strategy would address the root causes and contributing factors of substance use while promoting community strengths and leveraging existing resources.
"The Chatham-Kent Drug Awareness Council continues to meet as a network today, but has scaled back work to focus primarily on education and knowledge exchange," wrote Bendo. "At present, no community organization or group is responsible for, or able to sufficiently support, the collective action required to move the framework recommendations forward."
The idea is to spend $110,000 to hire a coordinator to run the local program and buy supplies and materials.
The report shows the rate of emergency department visits and hospitalizations related to substance use and addictions have increased in Chatham-Kent over the past decade. Local substance use and addiction was the primary reason for nearly 1,500 emergency department visits and 200 hospitalizations from 2015-2017.
From 2003 to 2017 the report states the rate of local emergency visits for opioid poisoning increased by 225 per cent and the rate of hospitalizations increased by 45 per cent.
It also states there were 58 emergency department visits, 26 hospitalizations and five deaths among Chatham-Kent residents in 2017 due to opioid poisoning.