With a sudden spate of fentanyl-related deaths in Vancouver police in the Cariboo say they are taking note.
Williams Lake RCMP Inspector Milo MacDonald says although the drug is more likely appear in Vancouver due to the City’s larger population of IV drug users, they are on close watch.
“While I think any illicit drug that can cause death in an overdose situation is definitely a concern, we haven’t seen evidence of fentanyl use here in Williams Lake,” he says.
“However it’s something we will be monitoring.”
A 17-year-old Vancouver boy died Monday after taking fake Oxycontin pills laced with fentanyl with a North Vancouver couple found dead in their home after ingesting fentanyl in combination with other drugs less than two weeks earlier.
MacDonald says where one draws the line between a recreational drug user and an addict is open for discussion.
“That would be quite a hard drug for a recreational user to be using that way although we do occasionally see evidence of Tylenol 3s and codeine-based drugs finding their way into the street scene so it varies,” he says.
“I guess it depends on the nature of the local supply and demand like any other drug, but you know like I say we haven’t any evidence of it here in Williams Lake.”
Interior Health recently issued a press release last month urging residents using or thinking about using drugs to think twice in the wake of at least four critical drug overdose cases in Nelson over the last three months.
Fentanyl is roughly 50 to 100 times more toxic than morphine.
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