Equipping Ontario Provincial Police officers with the Naloxone has resulted in 210 lives being saved.
The OPP began allowing officers to carrying the substance that reverses the effects of an overdose in September of 2017 in an effort to combat the opioid crisis.
According to the OPP, 68% of people who were given Naloxone were men, the average age was 35, and the majority of opioid-related overdoses occurred in the Central and West Regions.
Provincial Police are also reporting a 38 per cent increase in overdoses between 2019 to 2020.
"At the core of our response to the opioid crisis is the Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act" according to the Director of the OPP's Organized Crime Enforcement Bureau Bryan MacKillop. He adds "If you witness someone experiencing an overdose, please dial 9-1-1 and if you can, stay with the victim to provide support. You could make a difference and save a life."
Since 2016, the OPP has also investigated 23 occurrences where charges have been laid for Manslaughter and/or Criminal Negligence Causing Death in relation to fatal overdoses.