Island Health issues overdose advisory for Greater Victoria
Island Health is warning of a spike in overdoses in the Greater Victoria region.
The health authority posted a drug poisoning and overdose advisory for the capital region on Wednesday afternoon.
Island Health is encouraging drug users to "start low, go slow" by taking small amounts of drugs and seeing what their effects are, and to carry naloxone.
Other recommendations from Island Health include staggering use with a friend, getting drugs tested at Substance UVic, or visiting a local overdose prevention centre, like The Harbour facility at 941 Pandora Ave., or Rock Bay Landing at 535 Ellice St.
Island Health's overdose warning comes one day after the province announced that more than 10,000 people had died of illicit drug overdoses in B.C. since April 2016, when the province first declared the epidemic a health emergency.
Meanwhile, roughly 1,095 people died of an overdose in the first six months of 2022 in B.C., the highest total ever recorded during the first six months of a calendar year in the province.
More details about overdose prevention services on Vancouver Island can be found on the Island Health website.
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