The Montreal Regional Public Health Department is conducting an investigation following the wave of overdoses that occurred in the city center this weekend. Five of the six victims are out of danger, but one remains in critical condition, according to the Montreal City Police Service (SPVM).
Montreal Public Health describes the situation as “extremely worrying”. “This is unfortunately not the first time that a situation of this type has occurred, due to the instability and contamination of street drugs in Montreal, in particular by fentanyl, xylazine or nitazenes,” writes- her in an email.
She urges street drug users to be careful. She encourages people who inject drugs to “regularly attend supervised consumption services” and “avoid using alone”. Consumers also have an interest in having “enough” naloxone, an antidote for opioid overdose.
The authorities are counting an increase in deaths “possibly or probably linked to drug poisoning” in 2022-2023 compared to the previous year. The Bureau du coroner du Québec (BCQ) recorded 14.3 deaths / month in 2022-2023, compared to 11.2 the year before.
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