Family of fentanyl victim wants drug treatment to be an election issue

Sitting across from John Kolb and Arlene Last-Kolb you can see the pain in their eyes when they talk about their son Jessie Kolb.

The 24-year-old died in July 2014, after overdosing on the drug fentanyl.

Since then, the couple has been outspoken about the dangers of fentanyl and the need to improve resources andservices for those suffering with addiction and their families.

• Winnipeg parents speak out about son's fatal fentanyl overdose

Now, they're raising their voices again in hopes of making the issue part of the conversation during this provincial election.

"We need to treat addiction and people that are addicted and dealing with it like we would treat any disease, cancer or anything," said Arlene.

"It is a sickness. My son did not want to be a drug addict. Nobody wants to be a drug addict. I don't even like to say he was a drug addict, I like to say he was addicted to drugs."

John and Arlene knew their son had his struggles with drugs. They believe things may have started to escalatewhen he was prescribed Percocet following a weight lifting injury.

"He wasn't born addicted to Percocets," said John.

Jessie ended up in hospital following an overdose roughly two weeks before his death. John said he now knows Jessie was treated with fentanyl during his hospital stay.

"Something with his lungs, so they wanted his lungs to heal," said John.

At the time the couple didn't know a lot about drugsand had no clue how deadly or addictivefentanylcould be.

"There was really nobody there to explain to us what's happening and how it was going to unfold," said John.

Since the loss of their son, the couple has doneresearch, talked to other families and reached out to police and politicians.

They recently met with members of the provincial task force, which launched earlier this year to raise awareness and address issues surrounding fentanyl use in Manitoba.

• Fentanyl abuse prompts Manitoba to create task force

Watch: Arlene Last-Kolb still feels her son Jessie is near her

8 years ago

Duration 0:34

John Kolb and his wife Arlene Last-Kolb lost their 24-year old son Jessie to a fentanyl overdose in 2014. Since then, the two have been fighting to raise awareness about fentanyl and to improve resources and addiction services."We really want to make change and to help people," said Arlene.

The couple has a long list of ideas they think could help do just that.

"It breaks my heart is when I see parents like us doing these stories and crying over this horrible loss," said Arlene.

"We need more than that.... I could cry right now, I'll cry as soon as you leave and it will take me days to get over this and John too. But, we need action and we need funding and we need money and we need awareness."

John and Arlene would like to see more compassion for families and an advocate in hospitals to help figure out a what to do next when a lovedone overdoses.

They would like to see better communication between hospitals and family doctors to help coordinate follow-up care after a patient is discharged. The couple feels there needs to be more attention paid to when opiate prescriptions are written by doctors. They believe there needs to be immediate help for people looking to detox and stop using.

"The next time they take what they are taking [it] could kill them," said John. "And that's the way it is happening out there."

"At two in the morning, if they ask for help, that's when you take them for help," said Arlene.

Arlene said she would like the opportunity to speak with the political parties about fenantyl and issues surrounding drug treatment.

John said he knows change takes time, but he hopes by talking about the issue, they can help keep other families from living though the pain they do every day.

CBC reached out to the three main political parities to see how they would address addictions issues if elected. These are the statements we received:

Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba:

A new PC government will develop a comprehensive mental health strategy, combining mental health and addictions programs and services with an emphasis on better co-ordination and access.

ManitobaLiberal Party:

Drug addiction is a very serious issue facing families and we will work with health professionals and the justice system to address this.

We need to ensure health care professionals are working together to address addictions issues and bringing mental health services of psychologists under Medicare will be a start to address this.

We have also committed to creating a health care advocate to support families, and individuals who need help navigating the system.

We will double funding to drug courts to keep addicts out of jail and on the road to recovery.

We will get e-health back on track so that health professionals are well connected, including specialist, family physicians and nurses. Patient information must be shared for a holistic approach to care.

We would continue with the fentanyl task force, but unlike so many task forces whose recommendations are simply taken as information we would work to implement those recommendations.

Support programs for many addictions and disorders are desperately underfunded and the Manitoba Liberal Party believes in a prevention-first health care model as a way to address issues before they become serious health issues. We believe this will save lives, improve outcomes and save money.

We also feel education is the key and must start early in schools and on traditional media as well as social media that can be targeted to a younger audience.

Manitoba NDP:

We're deeply concerned about the growing abuse of prescription drugs and the damage that it is causing in our community, which is why we have created a special task force to address fentanyl and have created new resources to provide awareness.

While keeping the drug out of the hands of users is a major priority of our party, we also will work to ensure that Naloxone, a drug used to counteract the effects of an opiate overdose, is available in crisis situations. We would also work ensure that prescriptions for opiates are necessary and stringent while also working to ensure that family doctors are notified if an overdose has occurred, to both address the situation at hand and prevent any future overdoses.
We're continuing to work with the Addictions Foundation of Manitoba and other community organizations to increase the number of treatment beds available to those in need. We will reduce wait times for addictions treatment and also provide supports to families who are affected by this terrible drug.