Vancouver/Fraser Valley – Fentanyl use by people who use drugs in B.C. has doubled since 2015, and two-thirds of people are aware they’ve taken it, finds new research from the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC).
The findings point to the importance of taking comprehensive measures to reduce the risk for people who take the powerful opioid knowingly or unknowingly. The study is based on 2018 data collected from clients at harm reduction sites across B.C. and was published in the International Journal of Drug Policy. The study provides valuable insights into fentanyl use that will inform efforts to reduce overdoses and deaths in B.C. and beyond.
“This research shows the majority of people who use fentanyl know they’re doing so,” says Dr. Jane Buxton, BCCDC epidemiologist and harm reduction lead. “Making people who use drugs aware of the presence of fentanyl in the drug supply isn’t enough; we need harm reduction services, substance use treatment, overdose prevention resources, and pharmaceutical alternatives to the toxic drug supply to reduce the devastating impact of fentanyl and its analogues on our communities.”
FVN spoke with one Chilliwack street worker named “R”. The 38 year old woman openly told FVN that she is addicted to fentanyl, knows full well that it can be dangerous, and claims she only buys from dealers she can trust.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid 50 to 100 times more powerful than morphine. According to preliminary data from the BC Coroner’s Service, fentanyl or its analogues such as carfentanil were found in 85 per cent of fatal overdose cases in 2019.
When fentanyl first appeared in the drug supply, many people took fentanyl unknowingly in the drugs they sought like heroin, counterfeit opioid tablets or other substances. Scientists and health care workers wanted to know whether this was still the case.
The
study drew on data collected from 303 participants recruited from 27
harm reduction sites across B.C. The participants completed a brief
survey
on their drug use and provided a urine sample that researchers tested
for fentanyl and other substances.
Sixty per cent of participants in 2018 had fentanyl detected in their
urine, of these people, 64 per cent knew they had taken fentanyl. A
similar study in 2015 found 29 per cent of participants tested positive
for fentanyl, with only 27 per cent aware that
they’d used it.
