In the early morning hours of June 10, Elk Valley RCMP was called to a report of male who had overdosed on illicit drugs.

The male, from the Elk Valley area, had been driven by an associate to the Elk Valley RCMP Detachment in Sparwood and used the after hours phone to contact police. Two RCMP officers responded within moments, locating the male in the front passenger seat of a vehicle.

The male was displaying overt signs of a drug overdose, was in serious medical distress and near death. The male was administered two doses of Naloxone by police and within moments began breathing normally. The male was assisted into an ambulance and taken to hospital for further treatment. The male advised police that he had used heroin that evening.

The RCMP supports all efforts to ensure that an overdose emergency is dealt with as a health/medical emergency. RCMP officers have been trained to use and issued Naloxone for incidents such as this, where time is of the essence and any delay in emergency intervention could result in an overdose fatality.

“Although not confirmed in this instance, Fentanyl is suspected to have been a contributing factor in this overdose,” reported Sgt. Trevor Tribes, Operations NCO of Elk Valley Regional RCMP.

“Fentanyl is a highly potent and addictive synthetic opioid that is estimated to be up to 100 times more potent than morphine. Illicit Fentanyl can be in powder or liquid form as well as pressed into tablets in an attempt to mimick over the counter and prescription medication. The effects of Fentanyl are unpredictable and users have no idea of the level of potency or purity of the illicit drugs they take. The results are too often deadly,” Sgt. Tribes explained.

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