The deadly opioid carfentanil was detected in drugs in Port Alberni recently and health officials are warning users to be vigilant about overdose prevention.
An overdose alert being circulated by Island Health warns that carfentanil is causing “severe overdoses and fatalities” in the Alberni Valley.
The area health officer, Dr. Paul Hasselback, said the alert is targeted to drug users who “may not know what they’re getting.” It is part of a protocol meant to prevent overdoses and deaths by warning the public as soon as increased activity in overdoses occur in a particular area.
B.C. recorded 922 overdose deaths last year — nearly twice as many as in 2015. There were 219 deaths recorded in January and February of this year, including 39 on the Island.
