Overdose Prevention & Treatment

• If someone is experiencing an overdose or is witnessing an overdose, call 9-1-1 immediately
• If you’re in crisis call 1-888-353-2273 for immediate assistance (24 hours, 7 days per week)
• View these infographics on how to respond to an opioid overdose and toxic drug treatment options
• Get information about drug checking services in your area
• If you’re concerned about overdose activity in your community, visit our Harm Reduction page.
• ​Visit our Toxic Drugs Alerts page for the latest alerts regarding the overdose public health emergency

The drug supply is highly toxic and people who use drugs need to take precautions:

• Have a buddy or download the free Lifeguard app from the App Store or Google Play

• Don’t mix substances including pharmaceuticals and alcohol

• Use less and pace yourself

• Carry naloxone and know how to use it

• Access overdose prevention services and supervised consumption where available

• Recognize the signs of an overdose: slow or no breathing, gurgling or gasping, lips/fingertips turning blue, difficult to awaken, or non-responsive

• If someone is experiencing an overdose or is witnessing an overdose, call 9-1-1

We offer a full range of substance use treatment options including withdrawal management on an inpatient or outpatient basis; community or inpatient based recovery; and Opioid Agonist Treatment (OAT).

Integrated treatment teams are available in several communities. For information about treatment options, contact your primary care provider, or reach your local mental health and substance use centre by calling 310-MHSU.

In response to the toxic drug emergency, our mental health and substance use programs have implemented enhanced follow-up for individuals who present to emergency departments due to an overdose.

This includes expanded outreach services along with work to increase access to evidence-based OAT services, such as Suboxone and methadone, considered the first line of treatment for opioid addiction. New treatments including Injected OAT (iOAT) and Tablet (TiOAT) have been introduced in some communities.

To find OAT services talk to your doctor or contact your local mental health and substance use services office or check the list of Opioid Agonist Treatment (OAT) clinics and providers. For more information, please see the OAT handout, OAT Fact Sheet and visit the OAT services map.

Drug checking continues to detect benzodiazepines (benzos) in drug samples in communities across the Interior Region. Benzodiazepines have been found in a variety of substances, most often sold as “down,” heroin, or fentanyl. A wide range of colours and textures have been identified.

Benzodiazepines mixed with opioids carry a high risk of overdose and can cause prolonged sedation, sleepiness, muscle relaxation, slurred speech, loss of consciousness, black outs/memory loss.

Responding to overdoses involving both Opioids and Benzos is more complex. Naloxone does not work on Benzos, but naloxone will work on the opioid overdose symptoms. After giving breaths and naloxone, the person may begin breathing normally, but may not wake up. More doses of naloxone should only be given if the person is not breathing normally (less than 10 breaths a minute). If the person is breathing normally but remains unconscious, place in recovery position and stay with them until emergency services arrive.

For more information, view the following documents:

IH - Mixed Opioid and Benzodiazepine overdose

BCCDC- Responding to an Opioid overdose with Benzodiazepines or Etizolam  

BCCDC - Do I keep giving Naloxone? 

• Interior Health expands innovative substance use treatment (March 11, 2021)
• Interior Health adds youth substance use treatment beds in Kelowna (March 3, 2021)
• BENZODIAZEPINE advisory (February 5, 2021)
• New Lifeguard app launched to help prevent overdoses (May 20, 2020)
• Interior Health to expand mental health and substance use services in dt Vernon (May 11,2020)

An enhanced surveillance system has been implemented to track both toxic drug deaths and events with recovery. This timely collection of critical data helps inform our response to this emergency.

• Overdose trends and reports
• BC Coroners reports