Fentanyl confirmed in Kanata teen’s fatal overdose
Posted Feb 28, 2017 06:39:45 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA — A public meeting on drugs and the opioid crisis was packed with anxious parents, just hours after it was confirmed that the Valentine’s Day overdose death of a Kanata teen involved pills laced with fentanyl.
Chloe Kotval, 14, died on February 14 after taking Percocet pills that had been laced with fentanyl, a powerful opioid.
Last night’s public meeting, at the Kanata Recreation Centre, was organized by Kanata South Councillor Allan Hubely. Anxious parents heard from police and health officials, discussing the steps being taken and the resources available to tackle drug abuse. Some parents at the meeting lamented the lack of treatment beds for teens and young adults looking to quit drugs.
The chair of Ottawa’s public health board, Councillor Eli El-Chantiry says it’s going to take everyone pulling in the same direction to tackle the opioid crisis.
“We’ve talked to Yasir Naqvi, as our lead member of the (provincial) government in our city,” El-Chantiry told The Carol Anne Meehan Show on 1310 NEWS. “He knows about the need for more beds and more treatment.”
Paramedics are on the front lines of the opioid crisis, and have been stocking up on anti-overdose kits.
Anthony Di Monte, the city’s the head of Emergency and Protective Services, says more naloxone kits are being put into paramedics’ bags and vehicles, and people like him are keeping tabs on what’s happening in BC and Alberta — provinces which have been ground zero in the opioid crisis.
