Include an overdose elixir in the first aid kit?

[Katrina79]

I have never seen this brought up on the forum so I believe it is a bit of a taboo subject but here we go. Over the years the number of overdoses and deaths from opioids has been increasing in our country. It is argued that it is an epidemic itself and has only been increasing throughout the pandemic. I’ve often thought it would be a very good idea to have on hand an overdose kit at my properties in case the need ever arises for a guest. Hopefully an overdose would never happen but it could save the life of someone if it did. The only problem is the stigma attached and I think it would be very off putting for some guests to see. Overdose kits are supplied free here if you choose to pick one up so it would not cost anything! Does anyone have a kit like this available in their Airbnb? Where do you keep it, how do you present it and how do you avoid a negative connotation with your listing for providing one? Tell me why it is a good or bad idea! Please no rude comments! I’ve hosted many stays, enough to know you cannot always vet your guests 100% and guests do not introduce themselves as having an opioid addiction. 

[Mark116]

I wouldn't do it, it feels like opening the host up to some kind of potential liability issue by creating an atmosphere/expectation/assumption that drugs will be used on the property.  

[M199]

@Katrina79, @Anonymous

Why hasn't  Airbnb set up "No Vaping, No Drugs, No Alcohol", i.e. same as "No Smoking"???

[Katrina79]

@M199 Are you asking me a question or making a statement? Please feel free to comment on my post with pros and cons about keeping a Narcan kit available for guests in the event of an emergency. I truly want to hear from hosts! Without prejudice and stigma my mind says 100% great idea and it could save a life, but my gut says some guests perceptions may not align with my idea. I want to hear opinions so I can weigh the positives and negatives, as I have been unable to make a decision on my own. 

[Anonymous]

@M199 What would that accomplish? "No illegal drugs" would be pointlessly redundant, since local laws automatically supercede Airbnb policies and host rules. And it would be absurd to ask people not to take their personal medications. Homestay hosts can forbid items like alcohol or meat in the shared areas of a home, but we're really getting into the weeds if homeowners and listing sites start asserting the right to decide what adult renters can and can't put into their own bodies.

Smoking remains a separate category because of the tangible impact it imposes on the home furnishings and air quality. A nonsmoking rule can be extended to cannabis and vaping, but notably it is the smoke itself that is the factor, not the active intoxicant. No smoking doesn't mean no nicotine patches or THC edibles, for example. 

In the case were discussing here, "opioids" can broadly include anything from street heroin to grandma's prescription back pain medicine - the latter of which often has the higher risk of accidental overdose. So framing the issue solely in terms of recreational drug use just seems way beside the point.

[Katrina79]

@Anonymous  my thoughts exactly about including options for hosts on Airbnb as suggested by @M199. Laws already dictate such things and businesses must conduct business within the laws. @Laura2592 I’m happy you were able to save someone and I’m sorry to hear it’s been a tough week, I can’t imagine all that you are going through. In regards to the thread topic: I have no intention of being responsible for an overdose or one of my guests addictions or mental health. I see having a Narcolone kit as providing a first aid kit, hopefully it will never be needed but here it is if you need it! It’s like having a defibrillator on hand, if they were free I’d be mounting one to the wall beside the fire extinguisher! But of course I wouldn’t have to be concerned about guest perception and it affecting my reviews with a defibrillator…

In my province the opioid addictions are now in very small towns, it really is more prominent than ever. You just never know, it could save a life to have a Narcolone kit available. 

https://globalnews.ca/video/rd/2f65b5dc-4406-11ec-a8dc-0242ac110015/?jwsource=cl

Strangely enough I came across this on my local news channel this morning. 

[Laura2592]

@Katrina79  I just don't see this as my role as someone who is contracted to provide lodging.  Certainly others are entitled to their opinions to the contrary. I would not provide these items (defib machine, Narcan etc) unless legally mandated to do so.  Just presenting an opposing viewpoint as requested 🙂

I say the above as someone who has a very close relation who has struggled with RX drug addiction for years. If I were the guest, traveling with that person, I'd be bringing along an overdose kit. I would not have any sense of entitlement ti be provided one by a host. Again, who is responsible, what are the boundaries?  I just would never wade into those waters. 

[Huma0]

@Anonymous 

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@Anonymous wrote:

@M199 What would that accomplish? "No illegal drugs" would be pointlessly redundant, since local laws automatically supercede Airbnb policies and host rules. And it would be absurd to ask people not to take their personal medications. Homestay hosts can forbid items like alcohol or meat in the shared areas of a home, but we're really getting into the weeds if homeowners and listing sites start asserting the right to decide what adult renters can and can't put into their own bodies.

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I rarely disagree with you, but this time I do! I do have this in my house rules. I wouldn't tell people not to take their personal medications and as for recreational drugs, I'm not judgemental and don't care if guests use them when they are not staying with me. However, I do think I have the right to specify that I don't want illegal activity taking place in my listing.

There are a number of reasons:

- With weed, as you mentioned, it's about the smell. If a guest smoked it inside, it's going to bother me and the other guests and maybe even get my cats stoned (yes, this has happened before). If they smoke in the garden, it's going to bother my neighbours. Believe me, we can smell what the other is cooking, so they will definitely get a whiff of it!

- While I'm not judgemental, a guest could get very upset about another guest taking certain drugs if they are not discreet about it. I have had one guest report another guest's drug use to me. What if they report it to the police next time?

- Safety reasons. I do not want people to potentially be really wasted, causing damage or having accidents. Have you seen what happens when someone takes too much ketamine for example? I do not need late night visits to Accident & Emergency. I do not want my cats ingesting drugs that could harm/potentially kill them. I had a house mate who had a 'brunch' with friends while I was away. I came back to find the dining table covered in ketamine. The cats were okay, but that's lucky as they usually investigate anything that's left out in the kitchen.

People can choose what they put in their own bodies, but I think we can also choose what we will and won't allow in our homes. I don't see why you can tell a guest not to consume alcohol or meat at your listing, but not be able to tell them that shooting up heroin is also not okay!

[Anonymous]

@Huma0 I think we're running on different tracks here, since most of the discussion so far has implicitly concerned Entire Home listings such as those run by @Katrina79. For those, I see no reason that putting "No drugs" in the listing would influence guests' behavior. No way would Airbnb make it a tickbox item either : smokers can filter their searches for Smoking Allowed listings, but you don't want any implication that illegal drugs are welcomed at listings that don't explicitly say otherwise.

Being an in-home host with other guests and pets to consider, you have other factors at work and need to have some ground rules that may not be as appropriate for off-site hosts. It sounds perfectly reasonable to insist that people abide by a code of conduct throughout the home. But that's a discussion I feel it's really important to have in person on arrival and make sure everyone is on the same page. I don't find tickboxes on a listing to be at all effective in accomplishing that. 

[Huma0]

@Anonymous 

I agree, a tick box might not be appropriate. The more detailed house rules would be a better place to put this. Even for entire listings, I think the host needs to communicate about this if it's important to them, e.g. no smoking means no smoking of anything!

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

@M199 We have in our rules No smoking anything, no vaping, no drugs, no firearms.

[M199]

@Katrina79 

Not judging on pros or cons, having read the posted comments.  Just adding another point of view that Airbnb maybe should be adding those host requirements.  Hope this clarifies my suggestion.

[M199]

@Katrina79 

I'm actually surprised this disussion has not come up before.

[Laura2592]

@M199  I actually saved someone's life last week.  Not a guest...a good friend who had made a suicide attempt. I have spent the last week dealing with hospitals, police, landlords, family members etc. It's no small thing to provide that level of support for a person you care about. And the aftermath is completely and utterly draining despite the obvious positive outcome.  

I see my Airbnb as a business where I provide the basics for a stay. I'm not on site. I don't know my guests well. I honestly can't imagine creating the expectation that I should be providing any kind of life saving drugs or devices in my house as a matter of course. It's way beyond what guests sign up for. Home share hosts may feel totally differently.  And others may think me callous. The guests who book with me are responsible for their own personal issues to include taking care of health needs. That is the agreement I'd like to keep.  I honestly don't have the mental energy to stretch these boundaries with strangers when there are people I  have deep and long lasting relationships with that require my assistance. 

[Helen744]

Helen @744 I think this is absurd. Thats what an ambulance tripple 0 here in Australia and common sense. Not do it yourself home medecine for drug addicts. We say clearly no drug use. If something should happen the assumption is that another semi trained? or trained ? drug addict is standing by to use said equipment . We do not even provide analgesic If drug addicts want to go on holiday then I pray they do not arbitrarily choose my house. we offer the number of the nearest hospital which is not far and if i happened to be alerted to an overdose I would do all within my power to assist but that is not my area of expertise. i think providing a home resusitation kit of any sort encourages the avoidance of expert medical care and shows someone who has bought into the secrecy of drug addiction. That secrecy makes people their own worst enemy . Large cities have needle exchanges and clinics which cater to this secrecy and downright stupidity. It has been my experince that unless your airbnb is near a drug dealers house the overdoses dont occur Maybe drug dealers need these kits . I do not cater for heart attack victims or anaphalaxis or car accidents or suicides . Sadly these things occurr but thats what ambulances friends and hospitals are for Hosts can only point you in the right direction if something untoward occurs. I cannot imagine what type of guest you could possibly be hoping to attract or why.By the way in most countries these types of drugs are illegal .

[Anonymous]

@Helen744  In North America (more so than most other places), when it comes to opioids, the "dealer" is quite often the family doctor and local pharmacy. Yes, they're overprescribed and very addictive, but there's not always a clean-cut distinction between the addiction and the chronic pain the patients are struggling to treat.

On top of that, people with addictions are not the only ones who are accidentally overdosing, especially now that extremely potent synthetics like Fentanyl are out there. One case in point : one person I know suffered both severe pain and short-term memory loss for months after an accident. That combination left them with both a prescription for a potent medication and a tendency to forget that they just took one a few minutes prior. You do the math...