Tag: Interior Health

Interior Health Wide Drug Alert

Posted on by Lesley Coates

All communities of Interior Health

Multiple drug samples in communities across the region have been found to contain Up to 55% fentanyl (Average is +/- 10%).

Up to 25%  of benzodiazepine (Average is +/- 1 to 2%) has also been detected in some samples.

The samples have been sold as “down”, heroin, or fentanyl – a wide range of colours and textures have been identified.

Risk:

High risk of overdose with severe complications including death.  Substances containing benzodiazepine can cause prolonged sedation (several hours).

Overdose response:

Naloxone does not work on Benzos, BUT naloxone will work on the opioid overdose symptoms.  After giving breaths and naloxone, the person may begin breathing normally, but may not wake up. More doses of naloxone should only be given if the person is not breathing normally (less than 10 breaths a minute). If the person is breathing normally but remains unconscious, place in recovery position and stay with them until emergency services arrive.

No matter what or how you use (smoking, snorting, injecting) take steps to prevent overdose

  • Know the risks when mixing drugs
  • If you must use while alone, consider using the Lifeguard app which can connect you with 911 emergency responders if you overdose. Download at the App Store or Google Play.   
  • When using your substance start with a small amount, and then go slow.
  • Use with others or at an Overdose Prevention or Supervised Consumption Site, if one is near you.
  • Know how to respond to an overdose – call 911, give rescue breaths and naloxone.

 

Here is a link to download a printable version of this poster.

Drug Checking Report for Interior Health – December 2021 – BCCSU

Posted on by Lesley Coates

The BCCSU publishes Provincial and regional monthly reports that summarize drug checking results. Here is the December 2021 report from samples collected by Drug Checking Sites across the Interior Health region.

Key Findings

The percentage of opioids testing positive for benzodiazepines in the region fell slightly (64%, 27 of 42
samples) from last month, but trends may be hard to infer due to the small number of samples over a large
region. Etizolam, the predominant benzodiazepine in expected opioids, may be missed by drug checking
technologies. This means that the true rate may be higher than reported here.

1 sample of cocaine tested positive for fentanyl and an alert was issued.

Find the full report here.

Drug Checking Report for Interior Health – September 2021 – BCCSU

Posted on by Lesley Coates

Key findings:

The percentage of opioids testing positive for benzodiazepines in the region (41%, 19 of 46 samples) increased from last month, but trends may be hard to infer due to the small number of samples over a large region. Etizolam, the predominant benzodiazepine in expected opioids, may be missed by drug checking technologies. This means that the true rate may be higher than reported here.

Fentanyl was detected in 3 stimulant samples. While these results are concerning, two of the findings can be explained by cross-contamination after purchase.

Read the full report.