Dunedin bar Woof! allowed to use drug to treat overdoses

Co-owner Josh Thomas examines injectible and nasal spray variations of the medication naloxone. Photo / Peter McIntosh

A Dunedin bar is one of the first in the country to protect its patrons from drug overdoses.

Staff at Woof!, in Moray Pl, undertook specialist training yesterday on how to identify opioid overdoses and administer naloxone, a medication used to treat them, of which the bar would now hold a small supply.

Woof! co-owner Josh Thomas said they were happy to be leading the way in the area and were fortunate to have resources available to intervene in an emergency.

“It feels like a little bit of a no-brainer, in that it’s something effective and very easy to administer,” Thomas said.

While the bar did not have a huge drug problem, Thomas said drugs were part of the hospitality scene and it was necessary to take precautions.

“There is always the possibility that we could need [naloxone] one day. It feels like a great thing to have in our first aid kit if a patron needs it.’’

Thomas said they would only administer naloxone if a patron was unresponsive and would always call an ambulance first.

Know Your Stuff New Zealand co-regional managers Max Phillips and Lachlan Akers supervised the training.

Phillips said they were not aware of any other on-licence in New Zealand that stocked naloxone or whose staff were trained to administer it.

In its efforts to reduce alcohol-related harm, Students for Sensible Drug Policy Ōtepoti - of which Phillips is also president - had sought a condition on two recent liquor licence applications in Dunedin that premises provide naloxone on site as a first aid supply.

Phillips said the risk of fatal overdoses was higher when alcohol was involved.

Consuming alcohol in tandem with opioids lowered the level needed to overdose, and could induce respiratory depression — the mechanism of overdoses.

Naloxone was an opioid antagonist that could reinstate someone’s breathing.

‘’It’s important to have Naloxone specifically around areas where there’s a chance of combining alcohol and another drug, especially when that drug is misrepresented and has an opioid in it.

‘’Naloxone is essential to reverse that overdose and potentially save someone’s life.’’

New Zealand Needle Exchange Programme national harm reduction lead Jason George said naloxone had been used in medical settings for a long time and was safe.

The regulations had recently changed to allow the needle exchange to distribute it, and it was commercially available to the public.

It was commonly available from overseas retailers, but access to the medication was still developing in New Zealand.

George said Naloxone in and of itself could be adequate to deal with an opioid overdose, and it was possible for people to manage the situation themselves using the medication.

‘’We recommend that people do both: use Naloxone and call an ambulance.

‘’The risks don’t entirely end just because you use [Naloxone] and someone comes to.’’

George said even if it was administered and it turned out the person was not overdosing, it would not harm them.

Knowing how and when to use it was useful, and it was good Woof! was being proactive in recognising drug-related harm, he said.