Opioid Abuse Claims 70 Lives in Nova Scotia in 2016

The province’s chief public health officer says 70 people have died of opioid overdoses in the first eight months of 2016. Doctor Robert Strang says 10 of those deaths resulted from fentanyl use. Strang says the province has yet to see significant fentanyl abuse and that gives Nova Scotia a chance to develop a “pro-active response” to the highly addictive painkiller. Officials with the province’s health and justice departments will meet later this month to develop short and long-term responses.