News Items tag as: overdose crisis

Kamloops drug addict credits tough love for his recovery, advocates for forced treatment
March 10, 2025 - 7:00 AM

After decades of being addicted to crack cocaine, Mike Haertel is sober and living independently at a residential housing building in Kamloops operated by BC Housing.
What Kamloops, Okanagan public can expect when saving overdose victims
September 29, 2024 - 6:00 AM

Earlier this year, Kamloops resident Candice Romanoff came across a man in the alley behind her residence who was slumped over, not moving.
BC's drug crisis: Why everyone talks about 'stigma'
May 02, 2024 - 6:00 AM

Is stigma something the province should be fighting when it comes to battling the drug crisis? While current efforts are geared towards destigmatization, some experts believe stigma still has a role to play in addressing the crisis and others explain why it doesn't.
Why the drug crisis is much more visible in Okanagan, Kamloops than out east
April 06, 2024 - 6:00 PM

The illicit drug crisis is something people in communities throughout British Columbia rub shoulders with daily, while more eastern regions of the country don't. It seems as though the distribution network and the drugs themselves are to blame.
LESS FEAR: Decriminalization of illicit drugs in Interior Health helps users get help
September 18, 2023 - 7:00 PM

It’s early days yet but an Interior Health pilot project on drug decriminalization seems to be generating some positive results.
190 deaths from BC's drug crisis in July
August 29, 2023 - 5:00 PM

Unregulated drug toxicity is the leading cause of death in British Columbia for people aged 10 to 59, accounting for more deaths than homicides, suicides, accidents and natural disease combined.
Kelowna on track for new illicit drug supply death record
July 19, 2023 - 9:12 AM

The BC Coroners Service says 48 people have died in Kelowna due to the unregulated drug supply, while 89 of the city's residents died in the entirety of 2022.
Mom who lost son running across B.C. to raise awareness about safe drug supply
March 25, 2023 - 2:30 PM

A mom who lost her son to an overdose will be stopping in the Okanagan as she runs hundreds of kilometres from Nelson to Victoria to raise awareness about the toxic drug supply.
Death toll from toxic illicit drug supply in Okanagan, Kamloops continues to climb
September 15, 2022 - 6:00 PM

The toxic illicit drug supply in the Okanagan and Similkameen was responsible for 26 deaths in July, according to data released by the B.C. Coroners Service today, one of the deadliest months so far this year.
Kamloops leads B.C. Interior in overdose deaths
August 16, 2022 - 10:03 AM

Kamloops and Kelowna are the deadliest cities in the B.C. Interior when it comes to the poisoned illicit drug supply.
More ...

iN RESPONSE: Readers have their say
Following are a collection of reader responses to stories or letters to the editor for the fourth week of March 2024. They have been edited slightly for readability. Got something you want to add? Send an email to editor Marshall Jone

$145,000 fine for Kelowna orchardist previously involved in tractor death
A Kelowna company that grows, processes and exports cherries was fined last year following a fatal tractor incident has again been fined after a tractor driver was seriously injured. According to a recently published Feb. 6 WorkSafeBC

Marijuana gummies send 11 New York middle-schoolers to hospitals
MORICHES, New York (AP) — Police and a middle school in suburban New York are looking into how a student got hold of marijuana gummies and gave them to about a dozen schoolmates, sending 11 of them to hospitals. The episode happened M

Okanagan’s first ‘net-zero’ home is insulated with hemp
In an effort to make construction more sustainable a Kelowna developer has built a home insulated with hemp. The 5-bedroom, 3.5-bathroom, 2,430 square foot home at 278 Summer Wood Drive in the Echo Ridge development in Kelowna meets the pro

News Items tag as: overdose crisis

Kamloops drug addict credits tough love for his recovery, advocates for forced treatment

What Kamloops, Okanagan public can expect when saving overdose victims

BC's drug crisis: Why everyone talks about 'stigma'

Why the drug crisis is much more visible in Okanagan, Kamloops than out east

LESS FEAR: Decriminalization of illicit drugs in Interior Health helps users get help

190 deaths from BC's drug crisis in July

Kelowna on track for new illicit drug supply death record

Mom who lost son running across B.C. to raise awareness about safe drug supply

Death toll from toxic illicit drug supply in Okanagan, Kamloops continues to climb

Kamloops leads B.C. Interior in overdose deaths

Kamloops

Kelowna

Penticton

Vernon