Friends and family of a Saskatoon teen who died of a fentanyl overdose last weekend are now preparing for her funeral Saturday when they should have been celebrating her birthday.
Adria Bosshart died last Sunday, just one day shy of her 19th birthday, after overdosing on the powerful synthetic opioid, which has claimed hundreds of lives in Canada.
For many, Bosshart was a shining light. Her friends took to Facebook to express their grief.
鈥淵ou always called me your big sister when people asked how we knew each other,鈥� a friend wrote. 鈥淚t melted my heart every time.鈥�
鈥淪he was beautiful, always had a smile on her face,鈥� another friend posted. 鈥淚 miss the sound of her voice.鈥�
Kim Lamb鈥檚 son Brandon, who has also struggled with fentanyl, went to school with Bosshart.
鈥淚 really didn't know what it was,鈥� Lamb said of the drug in an interview with CTV Saskatoon. 鈥淚 didn't know how they took it. I really didn鈥檛 know anything about it.鈥�
Brandon, Lamb said, has been clean for the past three months with the help of a methadone program. But seeing others struggle with the drug is hard for him, Lamb said.
"He was very shocked, very shocked by her death, because he had no knowledge of her using fentanyl at all,鈥� Lamb said. 鈥淪he鈥檚 not a girl that was known to be using fentanyl."
M.D. Ambulance, which provides ambulance service in Saskatoon, says it sees drug overdoses from everything from alcohol to cocaine each week. But when it comes to fentanyl, overdoses tend to occur in waves, happening more frequently depending on supply.
Although one pill costs about $40, paramedics say you can pay with your life.
鈥淧eople are using it as a party drug right now and don鈥檛 realize how potent fentanyl actually is,鈥� Bill Weeks, M.D. Ambulance鈥檚 assistant deputy chief of operations, told CTV Saskatoon. 鈥淭hey think they might be getting a high, but what it actually does in a big enough dose is stop them from breathing.鈥�
To combat the crisis, each ambulance in Saskatoon now carries at least two vials of naloxone, which can reverse an opioid-induced overdose. But for those who know how powerful the drug is, addiction needs to be targeted too.
"They want that feeling again so they use it again, and with the fentanyl, you become addicted very, very quickly,鈥� Lamb said. 鈥淎nd now you're not using it for that feeling anymore -- you're using it to not be sick."
With a report from CTV News Saskatoon鈥檚 Mark Villani
