Manitoba launches fentanyl awareness campaign amid overdose deaths

Manitoba is launching a public awareness campaign in response to a growing number of overdose deaths related to fentanyl.

Health Minister Kelvin Goertzen says there has been a significant increase in the number of deaths linked to the powerful opioid in the past few years.

He says the social media campaign will focus on the fact that fentanyl puts both drug users and others at risk.

At the same time, Goertzen says the government is developing a program to distribute the antidote naloxone to high-risk injection opioids users across the province.

In the past month, there have been at least seven suspected overdoses in Winnipeg linked to fentanyl – a drug 100 times more powerful than heroin.

The latest campaign will be funded through the Federal Proceeds of Crime Fund.