Chatham-Kent police and local health officials are holding a community forum tonight to increase awareness of Fentanyl abuse.
Constable Nelson Das Neves with the drug and intelligence unit says one of the things they'll be discussing is a patch-for-patch program.
"If a patient receives fentanyl patches, in order to get their next full supply, they would have to return all the old patches," says Das Neves, who says that would help to keep the drug off the streets. "In some instances, people are selling their prescription or selling their actual patches or parts of the patches."
Das Neves says there have been eight Fentanyl-related deaths confirmed in the area since 2011 and 14 overdoses, but adds overdoses often go unreported, so the actual number is much higher.
Tonight's meeting starts at 7pm at the Frank & Mary Uniac Auditorium at the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance.
