Winnipeg Death Possibly Linked to Fentanyl Overdose

Police are still waiting on toxicology reports, but they suspect that a death over the weekend, and another serious but non-lethal overdose, happened after two men consumed cocaine that may have been contaminated with fentanyl.

Police aren’t commenting further, saying the matters are of a private medical nature.

Toronto police are warning the public about a scary drug they say is 40 to 100 times stronger than morphine, heroin, or oxycodone.

The odourless and tasteless narcotic is extremely potent with as little as two milligrams of fentanyl enough to cause overdose and death.

The Toronto police drug squad has scheduled a press conference for Monday morning to discuss the dangers and questions surrounding the narcotic fentanyl.

Fentanyl abuse and overdoses are more prominent in Western Canada, where heroin and opioid addictions are more prominent, Page added.

Police in Vancouver have recently reported several deaths related to Fentanyl, in which users believed they were taking oxycondone in the form of an OxyContin tablet that in fact contained Fentanyl, Page said.

Police think the Fentanyl may have been mixed with cocaine.

Prescribed fentanyl patches, used to alleviate severe pain, are also getting in to the hands of addicts, he said.