Fentanyl suspected in rash of overdoses

The B.C. Coroners Service says there have been 54 drug overdose deaths in which fentanyl was detected between January and May this year alone.

Fentanyl is 100 times stronger than morphine and warnings have been going out for months that street drugs are being laced with the potent substance that is believed to be made in places like Southeast Asia, Mexico and South America.

After a stunning 16 heroin overdoses on Sunday, the Vancouver Police Department is warning drug users to exercise caution.

The powerful painkiller is being blamed for a spike of overdose deaths across Western Canada, including four in British Columbia.

It has now been confirmed that Amelia and Hardy Leighton of North Vancouver each had ingested poisonous ranges of fentanyl together with different medicine. Jack Bodie was a 17-year-old who took Fentanyl thinking it was Oxycontin.

In March, police launched the Know Your Source campaign to warn the public of the dangers of fentanyl and spread out posters like the one below to raise awareness.

Tasks “Trooper” and “Tainted” led to 20 arrests and netted 55,000 drugs with a road worth of as much as $41.5 million.

RCMP say fentanyl finds its way to the Canadian black market either through diversion of pharmaceutical-purpose fentanyl products or smuggling.

The bulletin says fentanyl-involved deaths have increased markedly in B.C., Alberta, Quebec and Ontario, but that its own count may still be an underestimate.

How to respond in case of overdose?

Henry added the only way to test for fentanyl is with sophisticated lab equipment, so quick drug testing kits are useless.

Signs of a fentanyl overdose embrace extreme sleepiness, sluggish heartbeat, shallow respiration, hassle respiration, chilly and clammy pores and skin in addition to hassle strolling or speaking. “That is the problem, fentanyl is cheap and it can have a dramatic effect”. Naloxone is a medicine that reverses overdoses due to opioids like fentanyl and can save lives in overdose situations.