Union of Correctional Services sounds the alarm on opioids

EDMONTON – Union officials say opioids are spreading to prisons and that’s putting prison guards at risk.

Jason Godin, president of the Union of Correctional Services states that officers can come into contact with fentanyl in a number of ways, such as doing first aid on an inmate who has overdosed, by handling mail and by conducting searches.

Godin says back in mid-July at the maximum-security Edmonton Institution, six officers were exposed to the potentially deadly fentanyl.

Two of those were taken to hospital, and another had to be given naloxone, a medication to reverse an opioid overdose.

At Bowden Institution, one guard had to be hospitalized for 48 hours after coming into contact with fentanyl.

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Godin says such incidents should be considered a wakeup call that protocols need to change for workers in this field.

(The Canadian Press – CTV Edmonton)