Following fatal overdose, GBPH issues ninth opioid alert of 2024

(Source: GBPH/Natalia Shabasheva/iStock/Getty Images Plus)

For the ninth time this year, Grey Bruce Public Health (GBPH) has issued an opioid alert.

Five of eight suspected overdoses to have happened in the past week occurred over the weekend, including one fatality – with the majority taking place in Owen Sound.

Although the substance responsible has yet to be confirmed, both purple and yellow fentanyl were found at the scene of the fatality.

In six of the eight overdoses, smoking was the route of administration.

Manager of the GBPH Harm Reduction Program Monica Blair called the trend ‘deeply concerning.’

“As Public Health continues to work with our partners and community members to respond to and address the opioid poisoning epidemic, we implore people who use unregulated drugs to practice critical harm-reduction strategies before each dose, including always having naloxone on hand and a sober friend with them who can administer naloxone and call 911 in case of an overdose,” Blair added.

Those that use unregulated drugs are encouraged to use harm-reduction strategies, like ensuring that your drugs have been tested, not mixing substances, and ensuring that you never use alone.