November 20, 2014: SafeMedicationUse.ca Newsletter: Sharing Opioid Medicines Can Be Deadly
Sharing any prescription medication can be dangerous, but even a single dose of an opioid can cause death in someone who has never taken it before. Through recent work with Offices of Chief Coroners and Chief Medical Examiners, ISMP Canada has learned of a case in which sharing opioid medicines resulted in someone's death. The case involved a man who died unexpectedly at home as a result of using a fentanyl patch in combination with alcohol. The fentanyl patch had not been prescribed for the man who died; it had been given to him by a friend.
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