VANCOUVER - British Columbia is asking the federal government to help it crack down on fentanyl overdoses that have been classified a public health emergency in the province.
Premier Christy Clark wants the federal government to restrict access to devices, such as pill presses and tableting machines, and to pursue stronger penalties against people who import and traffic in fentanyl.
Clark also wants Ottawa to ask the Canada Border Services Agency to search small packages for fentanyl to stop the drug coming into the country.
Recent statistics from the coroner's service in B.C. show there were 371 deaths in the first six months of this year, about a 74 per cent increase compared with the same period last year.
The service says the proportion of deaths where fentanyl was detected in toxicology tests jumped to about 60 per cent and that the drug was either used alone or in combination with other drugs.
British Columbia declared a public health emergency in April when overdose deaths surged to an alarming rate in the first few months of this year.
