Members of the Vancouver Island Construction Association are being offered opioid awareness training.
Island Health and the Association have teamed up to help tradespeople understand who is at risk, what kinds of illicit drugs are most likely to be tainted with opioids, why using alone is especially dangerous and what an opioid overdose looks like.
The Association’s Rory Kulmala says you don’t have to look very far to find someone in the construction industry who has been affected by the opioid crisis…..
The B.C. Coroners Service reported over 1,100 drug overdose deaths so far this year, 175 of which were in the Island Health region.
Men are at greatest risk and account for 83 per cent of overdose deaths, and 75 per cent of overdose deaths involve people aged 30 to 59.
