Bankers, athletes, students are using drugs. This hotline tries to keep them safe

There's a nationalist overdose hotline that immoderate Canadians telephone earlier they're astir to usage drugs. But the radical dialling successful aren't who you mightiness think.

Since the National Overdose Response Service (NORS) launched astir 5 years ago, it's been reaching cause users who wouldn't typically usage depletion and attraction sites. 

Shame and stigma tin unit radical to usage drugs alone, putting them astatine a greater hazard of dying from an overdose.

"We bash cognize that a batch of radical are hidden substance users," said Monty Ghosh, an addictions doc successful Alberta and a NORS researcher. 

"It could beryllium that they're acrophobic of losing their job, they're acrophobic that the household mightiness permission them, they're acrophobic that the children mightiness get taken distant from them." 

Ghosh says that's wherever the hotline comes in. 

He says galore radical calling successful person voluntarily disclosed that they person jobs and unchangeable housing. 

"We're talking [about] radical who are lawyers, physicians, engineers, radical who are nonrecreational athletes," helium said. 

"A batch of them are utilizing the work due to the fact that they don't place arsenic the aforesaid colonisation arsenic who uses a carnal supervised depletion site." 

How does NORS work?

NORS is similar a buddy strategy — operators enactment connected the enactment arsenic radical usage drugs, acceptable to alert exigency services if they fishy the idiosyncratic has overdosed. People tin besides substance the line, if they can't oregon don't privation to call. 

To spot who is reaching retired and however the hotline works, CBC News met up with an relation successful Hamilton, Ont., and listened successful connected aggregate calls.

WATCH | NORS operator provides proposal portion callers take drugs:

The operator, Jodi, starts immoderate telephone by confirming the person's address, telling them to support their doors unlocked and pets away. These are each precautions successful lawsuit EMS has to respond.

One of the calls was from a pupil who was astir to usage crack. 

"I heard that determination was a atrocious batch going astir successful my country and I was conscionable wondering if you knew thing astir it?" the idiosyncratic asked Jodi. 

LISTEN | Caller worries astir 'bad batch' of drugs successful area:

A speedy online hunt for alerts astir tainted substances successful the caller's portion turned up empty, truthful Jodi cautioned, "Start low, spell slow."

Another caller, who was smoking fentanyl, told Jodi she's trying to usage little frequently. When she does, she's started investigating her drugs to enactment safe.

"Keep doing that," Jodi told her. "Just the worldly that's going astir close now, it's really truly scary."

LISTEN | Caller smokes fentanyl connected the line:

Once radical use, Jodi stays connected the enactment with them for astir 10 to 15 minutes. She makes tiny speech — asking what they ate for meal and what their plans are for the evening — each the portion paying attraction to however they're responding. 

"We're not therapists, we're not counsellors, we're not societal workers," Jodi told CBC News.

"We're not present to excavation heavy [into] wherefore they started utilizing drugs. It's just, 'Hey, how's it going today?'"

No 1 overdosed the nighttime CBC was connected the enactment with Jodi, but it has happened. Of the astir 20,000 calls NORS has received, it's responded to much than 200 overdoses. According to the organization, cipher has died portion utilizing the line. 

In comparison, betwixt March 2020 and February 2025, cause depletion and attraction sites crossed Canada received much than 3 cardinal visits. 

Goal is to 'keep radical alive' 

"Our mandate astatine NORS is to support radical live portion they're utilizing substances," said Lisa Morris-Miller, the enforcement manager of the hotline.

Her sister, Rebecca Morris-Miller, founded the enactment successful December 2020, with the assistance of her person Kim Ritchie. The brace had analyzable pasts with cause usage and met during a betterment program. 

With a cellphone, $1,000 and immoderate volunteers, Ritchie says they started an aboriginal mentation of the hotline. By the extremity of 2020, she says partnerships with the University of Alberta and Health Canada led to backing that launched the enactment crossed the country. 

NORS is the archetypal and lone nationalist overdose effect hotline successful Canada. For 2 years, Rebecca helped turn the work and became an advocator for radical who were struggling. 

But throughout, she continued to conflict with her ain addiction to fentanyl. In October 2022, Rebecca utilized drugs unsocial and didn't telephone her ain hotline — and ended up dying from an overdose. 

"My sentiment … is that determination is inactive truthful overmuch stigma associated with substance use, truthful overmuch that … 1 of the cardinal founders of this enactment wouldn't telephone her ain line," said Lisa Morris-Miller. 

Lawyers, bankers, athletes calling in

Most NORS callers are from Ontario, Alberta, B.C. and Saskatchewan, according to researcher Ghosh.  

The astir caller information from the hotline shows that of much than 3,200 calls, astir 50 per cent were women and 16 per cent identified arsenic sex diverse. 

In interviews, Ghosh said these callers told them that they similar the hotline due to the fact that of stigma and safety. 

While the enactment hasn't released probe connected this, Ghosh says astir 10 per cent of their calls person asked astir referrals for intelligence health, opioid treatments oregon attraction centres. 

Ian Tait, communications manager for the Ambulance Paramedics of British Columbia CUPE 873, says helium isn't amazed to perceive who is utilizing the service. 

"In British Columbia … we spell to million-dollar mansions for, you know, issues with substance use," said Tait, who is besides an precocious attraction paramedic supervisor. 

He said that astir of the overdose calls they respond to are for radical who are unhoused, with intelligence wellness and substance usage issues. 

Tait cited an app called Lifeguard, which helium says radical successful B.C. volition often use. Those with the app volition activate it earlier taking their cause of prime and they past person to deactivate it wrong a definite play of time. If they don't, EMS volition beryllium alerted. 

"In this benignant of crisis, we person to look astatine ideas that are extracurricular of the box," helium said. 

Faith O'Toole, a 22-year-old Ottawa resident, has been revived aggregate times due to the fact that of the hotline. 

Having utilized ace and fentanyl since she was a teenager, O'Toole has mislaid number of however often she's overdosed. 

Her mom, Tamara, allowed Faith to support surviving astatine location and utilizing drugs, but insisted she telephone the hotline. 

"Of people I don't privation my kid to usage drugs — cipher does. But if they're going to and I can't marque her stop, what tin I bash to assistance support her arsenic harmless arsenic possible?" said Tamara.

She estimates Faith has overdosed astatine slightest 3 times portion utilizing NORS.

"Overdosing sucks, but the hotline is truly useful," said Faith. "It's convenient. I mean, if you person a telephone … you tin telephone and you're safe." 

But Faith nary longer lives astatine location and says she doesn't telephone the hotline arsenic often. 

Hotline can't regenerate cause depletion sites: experts 

Despite however adjuvant virtual resources similar hotlines and apps tin beryllium successful this crisis, experts accidental they can't regenerate arguable cause depletion and attraction sites.

The hotline fills immoderate gaps — similar being disposable astir the timepiece and allowing radical to fume their drugs (which galore cause sites don't allow) — but it's not accessible to everyone. 

For example, immoderate radical mightiness not person a cellphone, says Caleb Clay, administrative manager for a mobile overdose prevention tract astatine Sunshine House successful Winnipeg.

"I deliberation that carnal and virtual options tin enactment manus successful hand," helium said. "I don't deliberation carnal sites volition ever spell away." 

Ghosh says these sites are essential, specifically due to the fact that they're often utilized by radical who are experiencing homelessness, and tin supply them with a scope of support. For example, they link radical to the section intelligence wellness attraction system, assistance bandage wounds oregon connection cause trial strips and cleanable needles. 

But cause depletion sites person historically faced a batch of backlash. 

Most precocious successful Ontario, the provincial authorities unopen down respective facilities under caller authorities and said it doesn't program connected approving immoderate much sites.  

Right now, NORS has 20 employees crossed the state and is afloat funded by Health Canada until 2028. 

NORS relation Jodi says radical who telephone successful conscionable privation to support themselves, without judgment. She gets it, due to the fact that she was erstwhile addicted to drugs, too.

"It's benignant of embarrassing," 1 caller told Jodi the evening CBC listened in. 

"What's embarrassing?" Jodi asked. 

"You cognize — you don't privation to archer your family, but you don't privation to beryllium alone," they said. 

"Well, we're ever frickin' present for you," Jodi said. "Nothing to beryllium embarrassed [about] here."