Kingston police issue warning after 2 suspected drug overdoses on same night

Kingston police have issued a warning on illicit use of opioids after responding to two suspected drug overdoses hours apart on Saturday night one of which was fatal.

• 'Good Samaritan' drug overdose immunity bill tabled

A man in his 20s, suspected to have been using heroinand cocaine, was found without vital signs in a downtown Kingston home around 8 p.m. on Saturday, police said. Detectives are working with the coroner's office to determine his cause of death, which will include a toxicology report, police said.

Around 9:30 p.m. on the same night, a woman called 911 to report that a 28-year-old man was having a suspected drug overdose at a home on Curtis Crescent, police said.

Paramedics treated the unconscious man withNaloxone, adrug that temporarily reverses the effects of an opioid overdose, and he was taken to hospital for further treatment, police said.

Police warned that there's evidence drugs, such as heroin and morphine, are being mixed with unknown substances, including Fentanyl, without the user's knowledge, which increasesthe risk of an overdose.

The Kingston Street Health Centre offers an opioid overdose prevention program, which includes training and distribution of Naloxone kits. For more information visit the centre at 235 Wellington St. or call 613-549-1440.

Naloxonekits have helped revive 12 people in the regionsince January 2016, police said.