Canadian Mayor Karl Buhr Apologizes For Spreading False Story About Fentanyl Vaping Death

The mayor of a small seaside village in British Colombia has apologized for spreading a false story about an individual who he claimed died after taking a hit of fentanyl-laced liquid from a vaporizer.

Karl Buhr, the mayor of Lions Bay, made the claim back in January of this year while talking at a public meeting. During the meeting, he claimed that his son’s “best friend” had died after vaping fentanyl – a powerful opioid painkiller responsible for a rash of overdose deaths in recent years.

On Friday, February 6, 2018, Buhr issued an apology for what he referred to as his “incorrect statement” regarding the alleged overdose death of his son’s friend that he spoke of during the Council Strategy Committee meeting in which he stated publicly the claim. As it turns out, by Buhr’s account, the story “was an urban myth” that may have been based on a tragic death that occurred in Delta.

In a “Village Update” posted online to the Lions Bay village website, Buhr wrote that upon further inquiry, he found “that nothing happened at Rockridge, there was never laced vape juice, and what likely did happen was elsewhere and for other causes.”

“…nothing happened at Rockridge, there was never laced vape juice, and what likely did happen was elsewhere and for other causes.”

Audio of the meeting in which he shared the false story was recorded.

Buhr, who has not publicly indicated where he heard the story, reportedly told CBC News that he won’t be commenting further on the issue.

As for what the tragedy in Delta is that Buhr referred to in his public apology, Bethany Lindsay with CBC News reported that the reference appears to be linked to the debunked rumor that Kyle Losse, a 14-year-old who was allegedly found unconscious in a bathroom laying next to a nicotine vape, died after vaping fentanyl. Losse did die, however, the autopsy performed failed to reveal his cause of death. Subsequently, his family has given the coroners permission to preserve his brain in order to conduct additional testing.

Can Vaping Fentanyl Kill You?

Last year, a 39-year-old Michigan man reportedly died after vaping fentanyl. Paramedics that arrived at the scene were unable to revive the man.

According to a DEA guide on fentanyl produced for first responders, just two to three milligrams of the powerful opioid can cause respiratory arrest and potentially death.