OPP say they believe fentanyl being abused in 2 remote northern communities
Posted January 4, 2017 6:20 am.
Last Updated January 4, 2017 6:39 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Provincial police are warning people in two remote northwestern Ontario communities that the deadly opioid fentanyl is in street drugs available in the area.
Const. Jon Schmidt says police intelligence indicates that fentanyl is being “abused” in Red Lake and Ear Falls and they want to make sure people know the drug has reached their communities, located more than 500 kilometres northwest of Thunder Bay, Ont.
Schmidt says police have not had any reports of fentanyl-related overdoses in the area but are aware of its presence in the region.
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Fentanyl is an extremely potent synthetic opioid prescribed to manage acute and chronic pain that is approximately 100 times more potent than morphine and 40 times stronger than heroin.
There have been more than 500 deaths in Ontario over the past five years related to fentanyl abuse.
Police have warned that drug dealers are adding fentanyl to other drugs they sell – like cocaine and counterfeit oxycodone tablets – to increase their profits and this is increasing the number of overdoses and deaths as people unwittingly use a drug that’s stronger than they expect.
The OPP also is urging people not to keep expired or unused medication at home and not to dispose of such medication in the garbage.
Two people were charged in central Ontario last week for allegedly stealing garbage possibly containing used fentanyl patches.
