April 4, 2023 10:33am
Grey Bruce Public Health (GBPH) is alerting the public of the toxicity of local unregulated drug supply following multiple overdoses on the weekend.
The health unit said from March 31 to April 2, there were 14 overdoses. One was fatal and 10 of them happened in Owen Sound.
“We are deeply concerned about the high number of drug poisonings that took place over the weekend,” said Dr. Rim Zayed, physician consultant with GBPH. “This is a drug toxicity issue, whereby people are using drugs that have been unknowingly cut or mixed with fentanyl or other toxic substances.”
Zayed said all unregulated street drugs should be considered highly toxic and potentially fatal.
GBPH continues with their outreach efforts as they try to identify risk factors. They say the goal with these efforts is to educate those who use drugs and their loved ones about the toxicity and harm reduction strategies.
