Surge of overdoses in Surrey
Posted July 16, 2016 4:58 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
SURREY (NEWS 1130) – Surrey RCMP and Fraser Health are out with a warning after 20 overdoses in the last 24 hours.
Most of the overdoses happened in the Whalley are along 135A Street.
While none of the patients died, two have been admitted to the hospital and all have needed significant amounts of naloxone to treat them.
“It is especially disturbing when we see such a large number of overdoses in a short period of time, and even more concerning when it requires significant amounts of naloxone to reverse them,” says Chief Medical Health Officer, Dr Victoria Lee. “Our message to people who use drugs is that there appears to be more lethal drug supply that is circulating.”
Tests are still being carried out to see what substances caused the medical problems, but experts are warning that some things on the street are more than 1000 times more toxic than narcotics.
“We know that the presence of substances which are 50-1000 times more toxic than other narcotics can increase the risk of overdose,” says Assistant Commissioner Bill Fordy. “Drugs can also be cross-contaminated with these other products, which means even non-opiate users may succumb to an overdose. Our police officer and other first responders are also having to take extra precautions.”
