Bankers, athletes, students are using drugs. This hotline tries to keep them safe

There's a national overdose hotline that some Canadians call before they're about to use drugs. But the people dialling in aren't who you might think.

Since the National Overdose Response Service (NORS) launched nearly five years ago, it's been reaching drug users who wouldn't typically use consumption and treatment sites. 

Shame and stigma can force people to use drugs alone, putting them at a greater risk of dying from an overdose.

"We do know that a lot of people are hidden substance users," said Monty Ghosh, an addictions physician in Alberta and a NORS researcher. 

"It could be that they're afraid of losing their job, they're afraid that the family might leave them, they're afraid that the children might get taken away from them." 

Ghosh says that's where the hotline comes in. 

He says many people calling in have voluntarily disclosed that they have jobs and stable housing. 

"We're talking [about] people who are lawyers, physicians, engineers, people who are professional athletes," he said. 

"A lot of them are using the service because they don't identify as the same population as who uses a physical supervised consumption site." 

NORS is like a buddy system — operators stay on the line as people use drugs, ready to alert emergency services if they suspect the person has overdosed. People can also text the line, if they can't or don't want to call. 

To see who is reaching out and how the hotline works, CBC News met up with an operator in Hamilton, Ont., and listened in on multiple calls.

The operator, Jodi, starts any call by confirming the person's address, telling them to keep their doors unlocked and pets away. These are all precautions in case EMS has to respond.

One of the calls was from a student who was about to use crack. 

"I heard that there was a bad batch going around in my area and I was just wondering if you knew anything about it?" the person asked Jodi.