Dozens of families crammed a Delta auditorium Wednesday evening to learn more about fentanyl, the deadly drug health authorities blame for hundreds of deaths in British Columbia in recent years.
“We’ve got a family with some young boys and they’re just getting to that age where this is out there. The more information we have I think the better prepared they’ll be,” said Kevin Hall on his way into the forum.
In 2012, health officials linked just five per cent of fatal overdoses in BC to fentanyl. So far in 2016, the drug is suspected in 62 per cent of overdose deaths.
The sudden and dramatic rise of fentanyl represents a steep learning curve, not just for parents but educators as well.
"Six years ago, I'd never heard the word fentanyl. This is new,” Doug Sheppard, Superintendent of the Delta School District, told the crowd.
Recently in Delta, nine young friends all overdosed on fentanyl at a party after using what they thought was cocaine.
They all survived thanks to paramedics who arrived in time to give them naloxone, an opioid antidote.
Since then, one person has died in the community in a suspected fentanyl overdose.
"This drug abuse issue is not about drug addicts in Downtown Eastside, ladies and gentlemen,” Delta Mayor Lois Jackson said from the stage. “It is about recreational drug users in our community."
In the first seven months of 2016, there were 433 overdose deaths in the province and many of the people who died didn’t even know they were taking fentanyl.
That’s what drove so many families to the forum in Delta, as they hope to teach their children about the dangers of recreational drug use in an era where dealers mix deadly doses in basements and garages.
