2 days ago
Swift News
Officials have issued a public warning after 11 people died of suspected drug overdoses in Campbell River, B.C., in the last five weeks.
According to the B.C. Coroners Service, the Greater Campbell River region recorded nine suspected overdose deaths over the first four months of the year, which is the most recent data on record — meaning 11 in five weeks alone would constitute a major uptick.
In a statement on Wednesday, RCMP urged drug users to take precautions, saying the "sharp increase in overdose fatalities" was deeply concerning.
"The community is reeling. We are, in many, many ways, feeling hopeless and helpless," said Sue Moen, co-ordinator for the Campbell River Community Action Team.
"But it also identifies for us many of the things that we have been saying for many, many years ... if both the government and the medical community is going to talk about this as a health problem, then they have to have evidence-based health solutions."
Moen says there should be an expansion of safer drug supply and more access to care, especially detox services and voluntary treatment services.
The support worker said she personally knew eight of the people who died, and a number of factors were contributing to the spike in deaths in the Campbell River area.
One of those, she said, was the closure of a drop-in centre and a community kitchen this past summer.
