UPDATE: 6:30 p.m People in the West Kootenays have died of drug poisoning from several different types of drugs this month. After Interior Health issued an alert regarding recent drug poisoning deaths in the West Kootenays, Health Minister Dr. Silvina Mema says she is unable to disclose how many recent drug poisoning deaths there have been. “I can’t give you the number of overdoses because when the medical examiner reports deaths to us, they mark them as ‘under investigation’ and it’s highly confidential,” Dr. Mema said. “So I can’t give you a number, but what I can tell you is that we’ve seen quite a few overdoses in the Kootenay-Boundary area, particularly in the Nelson, Trail, Grand Forks area. And most of the deaths we have have occurred in the first few weeks of August. “What we do know is that there’s more than one type of toxic substance going around that might be involved, so we really don’t know what kind of substance. But we do know that these deaths have been linked to both stimulants and depressants, so it’s not just opioids. So , we are very concerned as you can imagine.” As a result of these recent deaths, Dr. Mema says IH has reached out to a number of people in Trail and Nelson who have “live experience” of drug use, who will speak to people who use drugs in those communities. this weekend. “[They’ll be] reaching out to people who may be using substances to make sure they are supported, that they have someone to check in on them, like a buddy system,” Dr Mema said. “A lot of the deaths happened outside, so we’re sending people out into the streets.” Dr Mema says IH will assess next week how the outreach program went this weekend, as it may be an approach they continue in the future. ORIGINAL: 5:20 p.m Interior Health has issued a warning after “several” fatal and non-fatal drug poisonings in the West Kootenay region. In a tweet posted Friday afternoon, IH says drug poisonings have recently occurred specifically in Nelson, Castlegar and Trail. The drug overdose alert remains in effect until September 8. Despite noting that there have been “many” recent drug poisoning deaths in the area, IH’s warning fails to specify which drugs are involved in the poisonings, over what period of time those poisonings occurred, or specifically how many people have recently died from the poisonings. Castanet has reached out to Interior Health for more details on this rash of drug poisonings.
?? WEST KOOTENAYS Drug Poisoning Alert ?? PLEASE SHARE Numerous fatal and non-fatal drug poisonings in the West Kootenays, specifically Nelson, Castlegar and Trail. No matter what or how you use, take steps to prevent overdose: pic.twitter.com/CKIF6ii8Yp — Interior Health (@Interior_Health) August 26, 2022
