Nova Scotia sees sharp spike in opioid overdose deaths: 70 in eight months

HALIFAX – Seventy people died of opioid overdoses in Nova Scotia in the first eight months of 2016, a spike being attributed to the early impact of the highly addictive painkiller fentanyl.

The province’s chief public health officer, Dr. Robert Strang, released the figures today for the deaths between Jan. 1 and Sept. 1, saying as many as 10 are from fentanyl, and the trend lines are increasing.

Strang says the province doesn’t yet have “a significant issue with fentanyl,” but problems in British Columbia and Alberta give Nova Scotia a chance to develop a “pro-active response” as problems move eastward.

The B.C. Public Safety Ministry said Thursday that province has seen 555 deaths resulting from use of illicit drugs from January to the end of September this year, compared with 508 deaths for 2015.

Fentanyl was detected in more than 60 per cent of the 2016 drug deaths in B.C.

Senior leaders in Nova Scotia’s health and justice departments, along with other stakeholders, will meet Oct. 28 to discuss better co-ordination and both short and long term responses.

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