麻豆精选 has lost 63 people to toxic drugs in 2025.
That number was shared by Interior Health Dr. Fatemeh Sabet during a gathering in 麻豆精选 on Aug. 31 to mark International Overdose Awareness Day.
Dozens gathered in a sacred circle at Kerry Park at 11 a.m. to remember those who have died from toxic drugs.
Helen Jennens with Moms Stop the Harm is a leading voice in the Okanagan when it comes to toxic drugs, having lost her son Rian to a prescription drug overdose and her son Tyler to fentanyl poisoning.
"Never did I imagine back in 2017 when the [City of 麻豆精选] proclaimed Aug. 31 as International Overdose Awareness Day and we held the event for the first time, that eight years later I would be standing here saying the same things," Jennens said to the crowd. "I had no idea that we would be losing seven people a day in our province to a toxic drug crisis, that mental health and substance use disorder would still be seen as a moral failing and not the medical issue that it is."
Several community groups were at Kerry Park from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. passing out information about the crisis and local supports.
International Overdose Awareness Day was marked in communities across the world with the 2025 theme 'One big family, driven by hope'.
Learn more at .
Find locations in the Interior Health region to have drugs tested by visiting .
