Table 5.

Reasons given by study participants (n = 824) for having no perceived risk or low perceived risk of a fentanyl overdose among persons who use illicit drugs, Vancouver, British Columbia, December 2016–May 2017^a

Reasons	No. (%)
Never or rarely use opioids	541 (65.7)
Know the source or provider of drugs obtained	172 (20.9)
Takes cautious measuresb	103 (12.5)
High tolerance	89 (10.8)
Engaged in addiction treatment	30 (3.6)
Never overdosed in the past	14 (1.7)
Never or rarely inject drugs	12 (1.5)

^aData sources: Vancouver Injection Drug Users Study, AIDS Care Cohort to Evaluate Exposure to Survival Services, At-Risk Youth Study.^12-14 Participants could provide ≥1 response. Fentanyl risk knowledge defined as being able to identify an overdose risk associated with exposure to fentanyl (yes vs no).

^bIncludes tasting drugs before use, using smaller amounts, or carrying take-home naloxone.