Fentanyl to blame for spike in overdose deaths in Manitoba
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 01/12/2016 (2674 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Health officials are predicting the number of drug overdose deaths in Manitoba could increase significantly this year because of the prevalence of the opioid fentanyl.
Health Minister Kelvin Goertzen told the legislature Friday he has been advised that between 155 and 170 Manitobans are expected to die from drug overdoses this year, according to projections based on the first five months of the year. Last year, a total of 151 died due to drug overdoses, he said.
A greater percentage of deaths this year are expected to be caused by fentanyl — as opposed to other drugs, Goertzen said, as he updated MLAs on new measures to reduce drug deaths in the province.
The opioid antidote naloxone is already available through Street Connections harm reduction program in Winnipeg and elsewhere, he said.
“As of Wednesday of this week, 191 kits have been distributed at Street Connections with 22 being used successfully to reverse an overdose,” Goertzen said.
He said 500 more kits will be arrive in Manitoba by mid-December, with an additional 500 arriving in January.
More than 20 sites across Manitoba have been identified as naloxone distribution centres, Goertzen said, although his officials said later it was premature to name them.
Training is underway on the use of naloxone at these sites, the minister said.
The Progressive Conservative government recently launched a fentanyl awareness campaign on social media targeting youth.
It has also lobbied for tighter federal border controls to keep the drug out of Canada.
Late last week the government of Canada signed a memorandum of understanding with China to allow the RCMP to work with Chinese officials to try to stem the tide of illicit fentanyl coming into the country.
Goertzen said he was pleased to hear Friday that RCMP in British Columbia had made a record seizure of the drug entering the country from China. He said he’s hopeful that greater co-operation from Chinese authorities will help stem the flow of opioids into Canada.
larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca
Larry Kusch
Legislature reporter
Larry Kusch didn’t know what he wanted to do with his life until he attended a high school newspaper editor’s workshop in Regina in the summer of 1969 and listened to a university student speak glowingly about the journalism program at Carleton University in Ottawa.