By Vanessa Ybarra

Kamloops sees rise in fentanyl overdoses

Jun 8, 2017 | 6:00 PM

KAMLOOPS —  A recent Coroners Service report shows there have been 13 overdose deaths in Kamloops this year.

Last week, Ask Wellness workers saw three non-fatal overdoses in the city, with at least one more reported this week.

This week Interior Health unveilved a mobile overdose prevention services unit in the city, however Ask Wellness staff believe extra measures may help reduce overdoses.

This past week saw a spike in non-fatal overdoses throughout the city.

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“We had two at our Crossroads location on the South Shore and one on the North Shore,” said Hughes. “Even as recently as Monday we had an overdose outside one of our buildings on the North Shore and we were able to respond to that with Naloxone.”

Ask Wellness workers say they see an average of one overdose a week between their North and South Shore location.

Hughes says the recent spike can be attributed to many factors.

“It can be anything from we’ve got a new batch of drugs that came in that are laced with fentanyl or a higher potency of heroin,” said Hughes. “It can be just the sheer fact that some of these people are really tired and have been using heavily.”

Then there’s the warmer weather attracting more transients to Kamloops.

“Last June we were literally swimming in transient folks that were dealing with addictions,” added Hughes. “At the end of the day, that’s where the interface of this problem really is. Not only do we have an opiod crisis but we have an addiction crisis in our province.”

This week the a mobile overdose prevention unit went into operation.

The converted motorhome travels between the North and South Shore, providing users with naloxone kits and other support services.

It’s a service staff are hopeful will help cut down on the rise in overdoses.

“Naloxone kits are flying off our shelf,” said Vance Assu, Overdose Prevention Worker for Ask Wellness. “We have clients who come and get our harm reduction and naloxone kits and they go and they give it to their friends and then their friends. So the beauty of this program is the word of mouth.”

While this past week has been particularly bad, Hughes says overdose incidents are fairly cyclical, with only one fatal overdose reported in Kamloops in April.

Still, he says more needs to be done to stop the issue altogether.

“One thing I really think has some real promise is providing drug testing and allowing people who choose to buy illicit substances to sample them to make sure they know what they’re taking.”