(BBC News) Nine people have died in Vancouver in the past 24 hours from an overdose of the painkiller fentanyl opioid, officials say.
Mayor Gregor Robertson said these were “desperate times” for the Canadian city, adding that more deaths were expected.
“It’s hard to see any silver lining right now when we haven’t hit rock bottom,” Mr Robertson said.
Drug abuse in Canada claimed the lives of 2,000 people in 2015.
