A Guelph, Ont. teenager who says she鈥檚 been struggling with drug addiction for two years shares her fear of losing her life to a drug laced with a deadly dose of fentanyl.
Kristen Bolt says she has been hooked since she was first injected with opioids two years ago, at a time when she had become homeless and dropped out of school. Since then, Bolt says she has overdosed three times from opioid use and has had to be resuscitated twice.
鈥淚 let him inject me and then, ever since the first one, it was just鈥� you do it once and that鈥檚 it, you鈥檙e addicted,鈥� Bolt told CTV Kitchener.
The 19-year-old, who says she鈥檚 now addicted to heroin, fears the growing presence of the more potent fentanyl mixed in the drugs she purchases.
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 know 鈥� you鈥檙e kind of playing Russian roulette with it, so that鈥檚 the scary part,鈥� said Bolt.
on opioids says that fentanyl is 40 times more potent than heroin. According to the Ontario coroner鈥檚 office, out of 700 opioid related deaths in 2015, 30 per cent involved fentanyl.
Nevertheless, Const. Buzz Dean with the Guelph Police says arresting addicts is not a solution.
鈥淭his is an issue that we can鈥檛 arrest our way out of,鈥� Const. Dean told CTV Kitchener. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a very human issue.鈥�
Bolt says she has come up with a system to test the drugs she is using for the presence of fentanyl: she takes a small amount at first, and waits for the high. Then she takes the rest. She also says she has started carrying around a naloxone spray that can temporarily reverse an opioid overdose, just in case.
Quitting is hard, however, as withdrawal quickly brings stomach cramps, vomiting, diarrhea and severe discomfort that propels her to use again.
鈥淵ou get to a point where you鈥檙e like, 鈥業 can鈥檛 stop, because if I could I would have already,鈥欌�� Bolt said, describing her worry that she won鈥檛 live past her 35th birthday.
鈥淎t this point I can鈥檛 picture myself being happy without the drugs,鈥� said Bolt. 鈥淚f I knew that there was happiness beyond that, then maybe鈥� yeah.鈥�
With a report from CTV Kitchener鈥檚 Allison Tanner
