The emergency department sign at Aberdeen Hospital in New Glasgow, N.S., is shown in 2017.
Cocaine has quietly become implicated in a growing number of overdose deaths in Nova Scotia, with some experts warning that the public discussion around the dangers of drug use needs to broaden beyond the focus on potent opioids.An illegal drug that's been around for decades has quietly become implicated in a growing number of overdose deaths in Nova Scotia, according to data that suggests the public discussion around drug fatalities needs to broaden beyond the focus on potent opioids.
Nearly half of the 79 accidental overdose deaths last year in Nova Scotia involved cocaine, a threefold increase from 10 years ago when it played a much smaller role in drug fatalities. The reasons for this are complex, he said, but include fentanyl users turning to cocaine or methamphetamine to "push through" withdrawal from the opioid until they can find the money for their next fix. While opioids lead to drowsiness, stimulants can cause a burst of energy.The rising use of the drugs in combination is important for policymakers and treatment experts to understand, Friedman said.
Newfoundland and Labrador saw 23 overdose deaths between January and September. Of those, 17 were related to cocaine, two involved fentanyl and the remaining four were from a combination of the two drugs. The first wave of the opioid crisis began in the late 1990s and involved prescription drugs. Then heroin-related overdose deaths spiked, followed by the third wave involving synthetic opioids such as fentanyl.indicated evidence of a new wave, and found that a third of overdose deaths in 2021 involved both fentanyl and a stimulant, a 50-fold increase from 2010.
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