Who can get a free naloxone kit in Ontario
Free naloxone kits in Ontario come from the Ontario Naloxone Program for Pharmacies, funded by the Government of Ontario. The rules below are the program’s own. They are short, and most people reading this page qualify under the second one without realising it.
Who is eligible
- Anyone at risk of an opioid overdose — currently using, or at risk of returning to use.
- A family member, friend, or anyone else in a position to help someone at risk.
That second line is the one people miss. You do not have to use opioids to qualify for a kit. A parent, a partner, a housemate, a friend, a coworker or anyone who might be nearby when someone overdoses is eligible in their own right — and because the person overdosing cannot give themselves naloxone, the kit is almost always used by somebody else.
What you do not need
- No prescription. Naloxone has been available without one in Canada since 2016.
- No Ontario health card.If you would rather not give a health card number, the pharmacist can record the kit under the ministry’s own harm-reduction identifier instead.
- No drug-benefit coverage, and no money.The kit, the pharmacist’s call and the shipping are all free. There is nothing to pay and nothing is billed to you.
- No explanation. Nobody will ask you why you want a kit, and nobody has to justify wanting one.
Who the program does not cover
These are excluded by the Executive Officer Notice itself, so they are not a matter of our preference — a kit supplied to one of them cannot be claimed under the program:
- Businesses and organisations of any kind — restaurants, bars, gyms, hotels, offices — or anyone requesting a kit on their behalf.
- Hospitals, clinics, hospices, long-term care homes and non-profit organisations requesting kits as an organisation.
- Police services, fire services and St John Ambulance.
- Veterinary use.
- In-patient hospital pharmacies.
Workplaces are the common surprise here. A business cannot be sent free kits under this program, whatever its own obligations are, and a request on a company’s behalf is excluded even when the person making it would qualify personally. An employer that needs kits on site should speak to a pharmacy about buying them and should check what Ontario currently requires of workplaces. An employee who wants a kit of their own is eligible like anybody else, and is welcome to reserve one here.
Being sent a kit, rather than collecting one
Kits are normally handed over at the pharmacy counter. The Notice allows one exception, and all three of its conditions have to be true at once:
- The person is already receiving care from the pharmacy.
- The person is unable to physically attend the pharmacy.
- The kit is delivered to a valid address in Ontario.
“Unable to physically attend” is broader than it sounds. It covers not driving, being far from a pharmacy that stocks kits, mobility, illness, caring for somebody who cannot be left, shift work that ends after closing, and living in a long-term care or retirement setting. The pharmacist asks you on the call and records the reason you give. If none of it applies to you, you are still entitled to a kit — you collect it at the counter instead.
How many kits you can have
Up to 2kits at a time, which is the program’s limit for one person on one day. Two is a sensible number: one where you spend most of your time, and one that travels with you. You can come back for a replacement whenever a kit is used, expires, or goes missing.
What happens after you reserve one
Reserving takes about a minute and asks only what the program requires. A pharmacist then calls you, goes through how to spot an overdose and how to give naloxone, and accepts the order on that call. The training is the part that matters and it is short — the reason it happens on a call rather than on this page is that the program requires it to be given in person, in real time, to every individual, every time. What the call covers is set out in full, and the FAQ answers the twenty questions people ask most.
If someone is not breathing, call 911 now and give naloxone while you wait for paramedics.