VANCOUVER POLICE DEPARTMENT

Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid claimed the lives of 1422 people in B.C. in 2017 (a 43% increase from 2016). In 2018, 81% of overdose deaths contained Fentanyl. Because now more than ever, traces of Fentanyl can now be found in drugs such as Molly, Cocaine and counterfeit prescription drugs, such as Xanax. So, when a young person is taking drugs casually, what they don’t realize is that they are flirting with death.

We all know young people don’t fear death. They push this idea to the back of their mind because ‘there’s no way it could happen to me’. And while it’s easy to see fentanyl as a downtown/Eastside problem in Vancouver, it’s now found in most drugs, and counterfeit drugs, such as Xanax, that have become popular with young people. There is no way to know by looking at a pill, if it contains fentanyl.

So, we needed to create a campaign that would open people’s eyes to the reality of the situation and ensure the message ‘it can happen to you’, really hit home.

We launched Flirting with Death in December 2018.