‘Very potent’ batch of drugs circulate in Vernon with fatal results
VERNON – Six overdoses in the last week—two of them fatal—have Vernon RCMP sounding the alarm.
“The Vernon-North Okanagan RCMP want to warn those of our community that use illicit drugs to be very careful. It appears that there is a very potent, or what is termed as a bad batch, of drugs out there,” RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says.
The trend began Dec. 30 when police responded to the sudden death of a 49-year-old man known to be a drug user. He reportedly died of asphyxiation, and the death is under investigation by the B.C. Coroners Service.
On Jan. 2, a local man reportedly overdosed on heroin but survived. He was found not breathing, and was taken to Vernon Jubilee Hospital. He told officers he thought he smoked heroin.
On Jan. 2 a man at one of the local shelters overdosed and was transported to Vernon Jubilee Hospital. He told police he thought what he took was a combination drugs and heroin.
The same day, at 11 p.m. police took another man they believed to have used bad drugs to hospital. A small amount of drugs was located on him at the time of the arrest. As of Jan. 4, he was still in no shape to be released from hospital, though his condition was improving.
On Jan. 3 police attended a second sudden death, suspected to be a drug overdose. A 29-year-old man was found deceased in bed with drug paraphernalia around him. The Coroners Service is investigating.
Again on Jan. 3 police responded to a reported heroin overdose, this time an unresponsive woman at a local shelter. Emergency services transported her to Vernon Jubilee Hospital where she is being treated. She told the RCMP she believes the drug was heroin mixed with Fentanyl.
“With six reports that we are aware of in the past week police are asking friends and family members of those who are known to do illicit drugs in our community to be very mindful and speak to them about this,” Molendyk says.
Police will send drug samples to the lab to find out exactly what they contain, but that could take time. That’s why police are urging drug users, and friends and family members of individuals who use drugs, to be extra careful.
“Using street drugs is a dangerous pastime anyway, so in a case like this, they mix it with another drug you are not used to taking, it can be a fatal dose just like that,” Molendyk says.
To contact the reporter for this story, email Charlotte Helston at chelston@infonews.ca or call 250-309-5230. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.
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Not sure where you got this information about our shelters, but you are misinformed.Gateway Shelter is and always has been a low-barrier shelter providing emergency shelter for men and women who would otherwise be homeless and on the street.Our low-barrier designation means we can accommodate people who use drugs or are addicts as long as their level of intoxication is not disruptive or dangerous.Gateway staff do an excellent job in circumstances that are often very challenging – working closely with the RCMP, the street nurse program and the Health Authority.It is very disrespectful for you to assert otherwise.Drug overdoses do take place and the quick response of our staff has saved lives in the past, and possibly in these two most recent cases.Howard House Shelter is a higher-barrier shelter – meaning there is less tolerance for intoxication.The 24 men who live in the emergency shelter at Howard House live with 19 others who live in transitional housing and 9 others who attend an in-house addictions recovery program.Disruption due to intoxication is far less of an issue at Howard House – but our staff do an effective job of supporting people in recovery and encouraging others to stabilize their lives.Bill’s Place Recovery House and Sober Living Apartments is a 12-step addictions recovery program.All residents at Bill’s Place must maintain sobriety at all times.Bill’s Place is not a shelter and is not located anywhere near Gateway or Howard House.You can find out more about our Programs at http://www.jhsnok.caBarbara Levesque, Executive Director – John Howard Society of the North Okanagan/Kootenay
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Not sure where you got that information regarding our shelters – Gateway Shelter is and always has been a low-barrier shelter providing emergency shelter to homeless men and women, some of whom may be drug users or addicts.Our “low barrier” designation means our staff can accommodate people who are intoxicated or high as long as their behaviour is not dangerous or disruptive.Gateway staff do an outstanding job under very difficult circumstances, working closely with the RCMP, the street nurse program and our health care system.Our objective is to provide safe beds and meals to people who would otherwise be homeless and sleeping on the street.Howard House Shelter is a higher- barrier shelter – meaning there is less tolerance for intoxication, but we recognize that drug use and addiction is an issue for some of our clients.Disruption due to intoxication of any kind is not frequent at Howard house.One of the programs offered at Howard House is an addictions recovery program and it is usually full.Bill’s Place Addictions Recovery House and Sober Living Apartments is another one of our programs.This is a 12-step recovery program and there is no tolerance for drug use or intoxication in this program.Bill’s Place is not a shelter and is not located in or near either of our shelters.If you’re interested in finding out more about the work we do in this region, and our other programs, you can visit our website at http://www.jhsnok.caBarbara Levesque, Executive Director – John Howard Society of the North Okanagan / Kootenay
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