Another B.C. teen dies after “safe supply” drug overdose

A 15-year-old has died of a suspected drug overdose in Campbell River, B.C., believed to involve a “safe-supply” prescription opioid.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

A 15-year-old has died of a suspected drug overdose in Campbell River, B.C., believed to involve a “safe-supply” prescription opioid.

In a statement released Tuesday, the Campbell River RCMP offered their “sincere condolences” to the teenager who tragically passed away after taking what police are describing as a “combination of Dilaudid (Hydromorphone) and non-prescription cough medication.”

The drug Dilaudid, which also goes by the pharmaceutical name hydromorphone and the street name “dillies,” is a powerful synthetic opioid often provided to patients under the guise of the Liberal government’s so-called “safe supply” program.”

Const. Maury Tyre with the Campbell River RCMP said in the statement that it's important for youth and parents to “understand the risks posed by both prescription and non-prescription medications.”

The statement went on to acknowledge there is an ongoing investigation into the teen's medical emergency, which led police to believe it was caused by a combination of Dilaudid and a cough medicine

Cst Maury Tyre explained, “It’s extremely important for youth and parents to understand the dangers that are posed by all drugs, including the use of prescription and non-prescription medications.”

“Although police do speak in schools and offer drug and alcohol education, there is a need for this information to be regularly re-affirmed in the home and in the community to safeguard our youth. The reality is, this kind of tragedy affects people of all walks of life and socio-economic levels, sometimes through addiction, and sometimes through experimentation.”

According to 2022 data released by the BC Centre for Disease Control, fatal overdoses from opioids and other illicit drugs are now the leading cause of death for youth aged 10 to 18 in British Columbia.