Health care officials in Grey Bruce are trying to stem the tide of substance abuse.
Three representatives addressed Grey County Council on the problem with specific reference to opioids.
Sarah Ellis is with the Grey Bruce Health Unit. She says statistics show one person in Ontario overdoses on opioids every ten hours and adds the two counties are far from immune to the crisis.
"Locally we're seeing increases in emergency room visits, we're seeing increases in deaths and we're seeing increases in overdoses every day so I think that it is a crisis in Ontario and we're seeing the effects in Grey Bruce," says Ellis.
Dr. Debbie Dyke with the Owen Sound Family Health Team, says substance abuse is not confined to any specific group.
"Elderly, young all different socio demographic status. Addiction, substance misuse and illness, the evidence supports that it affects about 10% of individuals," says Dr. Dyke.
She adds substance abuse needs to be treated as a health care issue and not a criminal problem. And she says the solution requires a coordinated approach among health care professionals, social services, educators and community leaders.
Also among the presenters was Alison Govier who is with Hope Grey Bruce, which was formerly known as the Crystal Meth Task Force. She says they changed the name to the Grey Bruce Community Drug and Alcohol Strategy.
