Close X
Thursday, December 5, 2024
ADVT 
National

Warning in northern B.C. about illicit drug mix

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 20 Jan, 2021 07:12 PM
  • Warning in northern B.C. about illicit drug mix

Illicit drug overdoses are rising in northern British Columbia and health officials warn a new mix of street drugs can make a key life-saving medication less effective.

Northern Health and the First Nations Health Authority have issued an overdose alert, warning that benzodiazepines, or benzos, have been found in illicit drugs circulating in the region.

The alert says users of drugs contaminated with benzos might be difficult to rouse and could also be slow to respond to naloxone, the drug that reverses opioid overdoses.

Health officials say benzos impede brain activity and raise the potential for overdose when mixed with street drugs laced with opioids such as fentanyl, which slow breathing and heart rate.

The health authorities say street drugs have become increasingly toxic and unpredictable during the COVID-19 pandemic and they urge area drug users not to use alone.

Data from BC Emergency Health Services shows overdoses spiked in northern B.C. between 2019 and last year, with calls in Fort St. John rising from 77 to 125, while paramedics in Prince George answered 999 overdose calls in 2020, an jump of 375 cases in one year.

MORE National ARTICLES

COVID-19 rules ignored by Vancouver crowd: police

COVID-19 rules ignored by Vancouver crowd: police
Police say in a news release officers were called to the Granville entertainment district Saturday night when a growing crowd of people weren't paying attention to physical distancing rules.

COVID-19 rules ignored by Vancouver crowd: police

Canadian Trump impersonator losing business

Canadian Trump impersonator losing business
The 63-year-old from London, Ont., is one of several people around the world who work as impersonators of the United States president.

Canadian Trump impersonator losing business

Blanchet pushes free speech after France attacks

Blanchet pushes free speech after France attacks
Trudeau is harming Quebec's friendship with France, Blanchet said, calling for solidarity "without nuance."

Blanchet pushes free speech after France attacks

WATCH: Health Experts Worry As Thousands Party in Downtown Vancouver for Halloween

WATCH: Health Experts Worry As Thousands Party in Downtown Vancouver for Halloween
WATCH: Thousands come together to celebrate #Halloween party at the Granville strip amidst Covid19. Very little masks and social distancing was observed among the crowds.

WATCH: Health Experts Worry As Thousands Party in Downtown Vancouver for Halloween

WW2 soldier killed in Netherlands identified

WW2 soldier killed in Netherlands identified
Trooper Henry George Johnston's identity was confirmed under a program dedicated to identifying newly found skeletal remains and Canadian service members who were buried anonymously.

WW2 soldier killed in Netherlands identified

No money for Liberal promise of 2 billion trees

No money for Liberal promise of 2 billion trees
Trudeau pledged a year ago that the government would plant two billion more trees by 2030, or about 200 million extra trees per year.

No money for Liberal promise of 2 billion trees