RCMP say a “cavalier” attitude toward cocaine use, combined with a stunning spike in purity, has made it the number one cause of overdose deaths in Newfoundland and Labrador.

The numbers are troubling and they don’t lie.

Of the 158 overdose deaths in the last two years, almost 90 per cent were accidental, and half of those were due to cocaine alone.

That’s not to say lethal contributors like fentanyl aren’t also killing people; deaths related to both, as well as other stimulants, have been on the rise since 2021.

But cocaine has emerged as the leading killer, with the average number of related deaths almost tripling over the past two years from 14 to almost 40.

That’s due in large part to the sudden flood of nearly pure product that appears to be catching even the most seasoned users off guard, sending them to emerg, or the morgue.

That’s not surprising when one considers the usual purity of 15 to 20 per cent is now pushing 95 per cent on the street.

Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Nash Denic says he’s seen victims as young as 14 succumb to a single snort, warning it’s just the luck of the draw for today’s weekend partier.

“Taking the drug is Russian roulette because you never know which line is going to kill you,” he said.