Opioid Deaths

Nova Scotia’s public health officer has launched a multi-front battle against the eastward spread of the highly toxic painkiller fentanyl.

Robert Strang held meetings yesterday with doctors, pharmacists and government officials to establish seven committees intended to avert the epidemic of deaths that has plagued western Canada.

Strang says so far this year there have been 49 opioid deaths, with two of them from street version of fentanyl and five from prescription versions of fentanyl.