It's another sign that London is not immune to the opioid crisis that is growing across Canada.
London police say eight people experienced possible overdoses on the weekend. Of the eight, one person died.
Police say they were called to six separate incidents involving eight people. In four of the six incidents, it was reported to police that the users had taken heroin or fentanyl.
"The London Police Service would like to remind the public of the risks of using drugs, particularly opioids," police said in a statement issued Monday afternoon.
The statement came the same day the Ontario government announced new measures to tackle Ontario's opioid crisis. Health Minister Dr. Eric Hoskins announced funding for additional front-line addiction and mental health workers and another 80,000 naloxone kits per year to front-line organizations.
“The devastating impact of opioid use disorder and overdose has reached every community across the province, and crosses all demographics," said Hoskins. "Our government is committed to working together with our partners across the province to combat this issue through a collaborative, evidence-based, comprehensive approach that will help save lives.”
In February, results of the Ontario Integrated Supervised Injection Services Study were released and recommended that a Supervised Injection Site be set up in Old East London.
At the time, Mayor Matt Brown said it was clear London was facing a real challenge with opioid use.
“We know that emergency room visits related to opioid drug use in London are one and a half times higher than the national average and that is significant,” Brown said after the release of the study. “We have to look at the numbers. We have to recognize that when we develop solutions we are not inviting more people to use drugs, we are trying to help the people that our in our community that are dealing with this on a day-to-day basis.”
The OISIS study also found that, of the 199 injection drug users in London that were surveyed, 65% said they inject drugs daily, 72% said they do so in public places, and 22% reported syringe sharing.
