B.C.’s Chief Medical Officer is speaking out today about B.C.’s opioid crisis, saying more than 40 people overdosed on fentanyl in the Fraser Valley last July.
Kendall says he thinks one person died from the overdose, although the BC Coroners Service could not confirm that at this time.
“When you have an unregulated market, with unskilled people mixing up white powders in a back room with a blender or whatever, that you can just really, really run into problems,” said Kendall.
Global News has reached out to the coroners service for further information.
READ MORE: B.C., Ottawa sign $1.4B health deal to address opioid crisis
The opioid crisis has become a topic of conversation in the province.
In 2016, 914 people died as the result of an illicit drug overdose. An increase of almost 80 per cent over the number of deaths in the previous year.
Kendall is speaking out at the Bottom Line Conference on workplace mental health. The annual forum brings experts together to discuss the impact of drugs and alcohol in the workplace.
Last week, Canadian senator and former Vancouver mayor Larry Campbell said he wants the federal and provincial governments to allow free opioid prescriptions for people with addictions in an effort to stem the West Coast’s fentanyl crisis.
B.C. Premier Christy Clark says her government is taking the advice of health experts and police and would seriously consider any recommendations that need to be made.
– With files from Jill Slattery
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