Nova Scotia sees sharp spike in opioid overdose deaths: 70 in eight months
HALIFAX — Seventy people died of opioid overdoses in Nova Scotia in the first eight months of 2016, a spike that is raising early fears of a British Columbia-style crisis.
The province’s chief public health officer issued the figures Friday, saying he’s particulary concerned about a sudden spike of 10 deaths from the highly addictive painkiller fentanyl that occurred between Jan. 1 and Sept. 1.
“We’ve had some very tragic cases, of young people … that have died of overdose death in Nova Scotia,” said Dr. Robert Strang.
“Each of those is a tragic loss of life and a significant waste.”