Data obtained by Algoma Public Health from Public Health Ontario shows the opioid-related death rate in Algoma is higher than that for Ontario.
In 2016, one in six Algoma residents was prescribed an opioid, compared to one in seven in Ontario, the district board of health was told last week.
The unit sees these higher rates especially in young and working-age men.
To address that, they plan to increase the availability of naloxone (also known as Narcan), which is used as an injection or nasal spray to block the effects of overdose in a user.
More community agencies will also be distributing naloxone kits in addition to local pharmacies, which already do.
