A rash of recent overdoses in the Lower Mainland connected to the drug fentanyl point to scary times for drug users.
Those overdoses include three recent deaths in North Vancouver, including a young couple who were parents to a toddler.
It’s tempting to blame the victim in these cases. The public tends not to view drug users with sympathy.
But fentanyl is not confined to addicts on the Downtown Eastside. Far from it. It’s a drug that’s made it well into the suburbs and living rooms of recreational users.
One hundred times more potent than morphine, fentanyl is now mixed in to heroin, fake OxyContin, ecstasy and possibly even marijuana.
It’s a cheap way for dealers to provide a big high for minimal cost.
Most people taking fentanyl don’t even realize they’ve taken it. They fall into a deep sleep as their blood pressure plummets and breathing slows and they don’t wake up.
Alarmingly, fentanyl-laced pink heroin was responsible for 16 overdoses in Vancouver in one day. A number of those people are alive only because of the quick actions of health professionals who administered Narcan to reverse the effects of the drug.
It’s a good argument for a harm reduction approach to the problem.
Ironically, such life saving interventions are likely to be more accessible on skid row than on a quiet street in the suburbs.
But recognizing there’s a problem here on the North Shore as well is the first step to finding resources to address it.
In the case of drugs like fentanyl, harm reduction is the best hope of saving lives.
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