Ontario Provincial Police are out with some startling new numbers when it comes to the opioid crisis.
OPP say they have saved over 100 lives since September 2017 by using naloxone to combat overdoses.OPP say the majority, or 66%, of naloxone recipients were men and 34% were female.
The average age of naloxone recipients was 31.5 for females and 32 for males, and most overdoses occurred inside a home.
There was a 121 per cent increase in overdose occurrences attended by the OPP from 2016 to 2018.
The OPP says it continues to save lives by providing victims with referrals to community specific resources and advising the public about harmful substances.
Charges have been laid for manslaughter and criminal negligence causing death in relation to fatal overdoses, with 13 occurrences during the last four years.
OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique says they recognize lives are being lost due to the opioid crisis and they are taking action.
He says saving lives by administering naloxone is just one step.
Carrique says OPP officers embody the spirit of the Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act as they assist and protect overdose victims while continuing to criminally charge those responsible for trafficking substances that are causing overdoses and sometimes death.