WATCH: A 17-year old BC boy is the latest unsuspecting victim of an apparent fentanyl overdose and tonight his family is speaking out about their loss and the dangers of the drug. John Daly has this Global News exclusive.
A day after a teenager passed away in a Vancouver hospital following a suspected fentanyl overdose, North Vancouver RCMP are investigating another overdose death this weekend that may be related to the drug.
A 31-year-old died in North Vancouver on July 31. Police were called to the home after a family member found the victim in distress.
He died on scene, and his name has not yet been released.
“We won’t know for certain the cause of death, even the suspicion of a link to fentanyl warrants another public safety announcement,” said North Vancouver RCMP Cpl. Geoff Harder in a statement.
“If you use street drugs, you should take precautions. The risk of overdosing while using opiate based drugs, including fentanyl, is high.”
Cpl. Harder says they believe there may be a fentanyl link because a circular green pill with “80” was found in the home. Previously, this size, shape and colour of pill has been found to contain fentanyl in the Metro Vancouver area.
Fentanyl is cheap and usually mixed with other drugs to give them more potency. There have been more than 75 fentanyl-related deaths in B.C. over the past year.
Last week, a North Vancouver died after using street drugs laced with fentanyl, leaving behind a two-year-old who is now an orphan.
WATCH: The tragic case of a young north shore couple shows the seriousness of police warnings about the dangers of even “recreational” drug use. Rumina Daya reports.
“The advice that we’ve been talking about is for people who are buying street drugs, thinking that they might be methamphetamine or ecstasy is to be very very very cautions,” said Dr. Perry Kendall, B.C.’s provincial health officer.
“Ideally, don’t buy these drugs because you don’t know what’s in them.”
– With files from Amy Judd
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