The game of Russian roulette that illicit drug users are playing these days has family and friends living in fear.

The rise in , and the deadly toll it is wreaking, is what drew approximately 250 people out to Monday at Fulton Secondary.

Interior Health and the Vernon School District provided information on the drug and Naloxene (used to treat overdoses) while answering questions and providing advice.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a conversation that we鈥檙e obviously going to need to continue because it鈥檚 changing our society,鈥� said Doug Rogers, district substance abuse prevention counsellor.

The same day as the presentation, some alarming numbers were reported by a Victoria pharmacy in a . The pharmacy provides free testing of street drugs and has found more than 90 per cent of the dozens of samples it has tested contain some amount of fentanyl. But there is still no way of knowing just how much fentanyl there is in drugs.

鈥淭his is the kind of stuff you don鈥檛 experiment with because it鈥檚 life changing,鈥� said Rogers. 鈥淥ne experiment changes your life.鈥�

For Vernon, the drug overdose rates are staggering - 115 over a 7.5 month period - more than Kamloops, 琉璃神社, Penticton and Nelson.

鈥淧er capita, we鈥檙e right up there with Vancouver,鈥� said Rogers. 鈥淗ow does a place like Vernon have more of a problem than 琉璃神社?鈥�

Which is why local authorities are taking the problem very seriously.

While there isn鈥檛 currently a problem among students, local schools want to be prepared and are providing Naloxene training to administrators and health care workers in all five high schools. Training is expected to be completed by the end of April.

For those in the community who want to protect themselves, Naloxene kits are available at any drug store for approximately $60 and are available at the health unit for those who can鈥檛 afford it, Rogers advises.

Those who are worried about loved ones are also urged to watch for what Rogers terms the APB signs and symptoms: Attitude - showing anger more often or adversely, becoming quieter than normal

Performance - a cease in activities they once loved

Behaviour - new friends, new attitudes, lying or misleading

鈥淚f I was really scared for my kid I would take my kid to the doctor and have them tested,鈥� said Rogers. 鈥淲e have to not be afraid to get between our kids and drugs.鈥�

There are a number of resources in the community, including talking to the intake team at the Vernon Health Unit.

The Youth Hub at Teen Junction (open Wednesdays at 2 p.m.) is another resource for students struggling with substance use.

For more information visit bc211.ca or interiorhealth.ca