Medical and law enforcement officials on the Sunshine Coast delivered a serious wake-up call to the public this week about the growing presence of potentially deadly opioids like fentanyl in the community.
An ER doctor at Sechelt Hospital estimates that opioid overdoses were responsible for as many as six deaths on the Sunshine Coast last year and RCMP are reporting a sudden spike in overdoses since late December.
The severity of the crisis can’t be overstated. B.C. declared a public health emergency in April 2016, distributing thousands of naloxone kits to hospitals, jails and emergency service providers. Since then, the opioid epidemic has only worsened, with 622 fatal drug overdoses reported in the first 10 months of 2016 – up from 397 the year before – and 60 per cent of them linked to fentanyl.
Up to 100 times stronger than morphine, fentanyl is not just killing hard-core addicts; it’s also ending the lives of recreational drug users who had no idea the substance they were ingesting was laced with fentanyl.
For months the Vancouver and Victoria media have been carrying heart-breaking stories about young people, including teenagers, whose sudden deaths were linked to fentanyl overdoses. Even those who survive, doctors and paramedics warn, could suffer from irreparable brain damage, ranging from memory loss to complete loss of brain function. One Victoria-based advanced-care paramedic told the Times Colonist that using naloxone as an antidote is only part of the equation, and emphasis should also be put on rescue breathing or CPR in order to prevent brain damage in some cases.
It’s important for everyone in the community to be aware of this plague and armed with as much information as possible. Young people especially need to know what’s at stake. This is not about lifestyle choices. It’s about life or death.
