Close X
Friday, November 8, 2024
ADVT 
National

Fentanyl Continues To Claim B.C. Lives Despite Education: Police

The Canadian Press, 08 Dec, 2015 11:18 AM
    Vancouver police say too many people are dying from fentanyl-laced drugs, despite ongoing education and awareness campaigns.
     
    Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid used to treat pain, and Health Canada says its abuse or misuse, even in small amounts, can cause death.
     
    The BC Coroners Service says fentanyl killed about 90 people in British Columbia between January and August this year.
     
    Sixteen of those deaths were recorded in Vancouver, while 10 died in Surrey, nine in Nanaimo and eight in Maple Ridge.
     
    Vancouver police Sgt. Randy Fincham says fentanyl is imported in powder form, pressed into pills and sold on the streets as counterfeit OxyContin, but it can also be found in heroin and cocaine.  
     
    He says the key to saving lives is continuing to educate users about the drug.
     
    "If they are going to choose to use an illicit drug or an unregulated drug, that they have some safety measures in place," says Fincham. 
     
    "That if there is an overdose or somebody does have an adverse reaction, that they are able to get help right away, have somebody phone 911."
     
    Police in Delta, B.C, issued a warning over the weekend after two people used cocaine and inadvertently overdosed on fentanyl. 

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Opening Five Safe-Injection Sites Makes Financial Sense For Ontario: Study

    Opening Five Safe-Injection Sites Makes Financial Sense For Ontario: Study
    Ahmed Bayoumi, a medical researcher at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto, says three such facilities in that city and two in Ottawa would make financial sense given the increasing effectiveness of hepatitis C treatment.

    Opening Five Safe-Injection Sites Makes Financial Sense For Ontario: Study

    Ontario Police Officer Captures Lone Black Bear Cub In Petawawa, Ont.

    Ontario Police Officer Captures Lone Black Bear Cub In Petawawa, Ont.
    Const. Shawn Peever says police received calls last week from residents who saw no sign of a mother bear and were concerned for the cub.

    Ontario Police Officer Captures Lone Black Bear Cub In Petawawa, Ont.

    B.C. Credit Expert Offers Advice Leading Up To Holiday Shopping Season

    B.C. Credit Expert Offers Advice Leading Up To Holiday Shopping Season
    President Scott Hannah says holiday expenses should be planned and on budget.

    B.C. Credit Expert Offers Advice Leading Up To Holiday Shopping Season

    Retailers Roll Out Online Deals For Cyber Monday, Expected To Rack Up Over $3 Billion In Sales

    Retailers Roll Out Online Deals For Cyber Monday, Expected To Rack Up Over $3 Billion In Sales
    NEW YORK — Retailers are rolling out online deals on so-called "Cyber Monday." But now that shoppers are online all the time anyway, the 10-year-old shopping holiday is losing some of its lustre.

    Retailers Roll Out Online Deals For Cyber Monday, Expected To Rack Up Over $3 Billion In Sales

    Walkable Neighbourhoods Dramatically Lower Odds Of Obesity: Research

    Walkable Neighbourhoods Dramatically Lower Odds Of Obesity: Research
    Those findings come out of a study conducted by researcher Salman Klar of the Fraser Health Authority and presented at this week's World Diabetes Congress in Vancouver.

    Walkable Neighbourhoods Dramatically Lower Odds Of Obesity: Research

    Dror Bar-Natan Renounces Oath To The Queen Right After Becoming Canadian Citizen

    Dror Bar-Natan Renounces Oath To The Queen Right After Becoming Canadian Citizen
    Dror Bar-Natan, a 49-year-old math professor from Israel, was one of three permanent residents who challenged the constitutionality of making citizenship conditional on the pledge to the Queen, her heirs and successors.

    Dror Bar-Natan Renounces Oath To The Queen Right After Becoming Canadian Citizen