Rising drug poisonings prompt rare B.C.-wide alert over medetomidine
Global News
The BC Centre for Disease Control has issued a provincewide drug alert as poisonings rise, warning that medetomidine is increasingly present in the unregulated drug supply.
The BC Centre for Disease Control has issued a provincewide drug alert after a recent increase in drug poisonings linked to changes in its unregulated drug supply.
According to an alert put out by the BCCDC, a drug called medetomidine has been circulating in the drug supply in recent months and putting people who use substances at risk provincewide.
The alert warns the public to take precautionary measures after the BC Centre on Substance Use detected medetomidine in 38 per cent of opioid samples tested.
Opioids like fentanyl are often now being mixed with this potent sedative, used primarily by veterinarians, that can cause low heart rate (bradycardia), changes to blood pressure and prolonged sedation.
Medetomidine can make overdoses more dangerous by causing extreme drowsiness or loss of consciousness.
While data from the BC Coroners Service shows overdose deaths are not increasing, health officials warn that the rise in non-fatal poisonings is still deeply concerning.
People exposed may not wake up for an extended period of time and can experience slowed breathing and a dangerously low heart rate.
Withdrawal from the drug can also be severe, with symptoms including vomiting, chest pain, rapid heartbeat, confusion and intense headaches.
Two days after the first day of spring, parts of Atlantic Canada and Quebec will see another blast of winter with Environment Canada forecasting several centimetres of snow.
UNESCO recognized several Maritime historical groups including the executive director of the Black Loyalist Heritage Centre for their work on the Black Loyalist archive.
Aid shipments are beginning to arrive in Cuba and a Russian oil delivery is expected this month, but fuel shortages remain critical.
Tensions flared as CAQ leadership rivals clashed over Quebec’s “third link” project in the first debate to replace Premier François Legault.
Toronto police have charged a 60-year-old man with second-degree murder in connection with the death of Xian Wei Shao, whose remains were discovered in a north end home last week.
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne says the government has found ways to cut spending by $60 billion but cautions that published spending cuts require important context.
Three Canadians from Quebec who were stranded in the Persian Gulf since Feb. 28 have returned home following a coordinated repatriation effort.
Federal departments announced that they plan to cut more than 12,000 jobs over three years as part of the Carney government’s spending review plan.
Canada’s Integrated Threat Assessment Centre says the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran has heightened an already present threat against Jewish Canadians and public officials.
Edward Warner, his wife Tania and his seven-year-old step-daughter Ayla were coming back from a friend's baby shower on Saturday when they went through an ICE checkpoint in Sarita.
A fire chief from a village that battled flames during Saskatchewan's destructive wildfire season last year says the province's latest budget does not provide enough funding.
Manitoba’s upcoming budget will include more child care funding and a smaller deficit, as the NDP government aims to balance finances by 2027.
A member of the Royal Canadian Air Force in Winnipeg has just been crowned the World's Strongest Firefighter, outlifting athletes from around the world.