‘Russian roulette in the worst degree’: Abbotsford Police release new ad on fentanyl dangers

A new video put together by Abbotsford Police officers is trying to raise awareness about the dangers of fentanyl in the face of the growing overdose crisis in British Columbia.

Mixed in with a catchy beat and fancy graphics in the seven-minute video are some hardhearted statistics about how many lives fentanyl has claimed last year.

In April 2016, a growing number of overdose deaths prompted B.C. health officials to declare a public health emergency. By the end of the year, 914 people died as the result of an illicit drug overdose. That’s an increase of almost 80 per cent over the number of deaths in the previous year (510).

From Jan. 1 through Oct. 31, fentanyl was detected in 374 cases, which is about 60 per cent of all illicit drug deaths.

Rich says some people may be surprised by the statistics mentioned in their video.

“Many people have this idea that it’s just the people on the street who are dying. In fact, most people are actually in their homes when they die. It’s happening to all segments of the society.”

The most recent report by BC Coroners Service showed 90 per cent of the 2016 overdose deaths occurred indoors.

The video also compares overdose numbers to other causes of death in Abbotsford in 2016.

The department says there were five murders, eight traffic facilities and 37 overdoses.

The video is filled with messages like “One pill can last your lifetime” and “Your first time could be your last.” It also quotes a drug user describing fentanyl as playing “Russian roulette in the worst degree.”

Rich says they are really hoping to get through to people who occasionally use drugs.

“They say they trust their dealer,” said Rich. “They have these rationalizations that we are going to have to get through. We have done it with cigarettes, we have done it with drunk driving and we can do it with this. It is not just an ad campaign. We are going to have to hammer this.”

The video ends with tips about how to use naloxone to reverse an overdose, as well as how to recognize signs of an overdose and how to get help.

For more information about the dangers of street drugs, go here.