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RCMP combatting drug overdoses in North Okanagan

22 officers have delivered life-saving Naloxone to 33 individuals
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Const. Shaun Miranda (from left), Const. Krista Boudreau and Sgt. Dale Jackson are presented with awards for saving lives in an overdose situation by Supt. Shawna Baher. (Vernon North Okanagan RCMP photo)

Highly toxic street drugs continue to send people into overdose, but more lives are being saved thanks to Mounties.

Every Vernon North Okanagan RCMP frontline officer carries nasal Naloxone. In fact, 22 officers have administered the life-saving drug to 33 people, between October 2016 and March 2021.

“In British Columbia, overdose deaths from illicit drug use continue to rise and the Vernon North Okanagan is not immune to this tragedy,” Supt. Shawna Baher said in her second-quarter report. “With highly toxic substances, including fentanyl, in street-level opioids, the risk of an overdose to drug dependant persons is high.”

The Southeast District Officer has created an award to recognize these 22 officers who have saved a life in an overdose situation.

READ MORE: Overdose calls in Vernon rose 28 per cent in 2020

READ MORE: B.C. paramedics respond to record overdose calls in 24-hour period for 2nd month in a row


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Jennifer Smith

About the Author: Jennifer Smith

Vernon has always been my home, and I've been working at The Morning Star since 2004.
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