‘It’s a big problem. People are dying’: Alberta health experts warn of fentanyl dangers

EDMONTON — Health experts believe fentanyl will kill upwards of 300 people in Alberta this year alone. In hopes of putting a stop to overdose deaths, a public information night will be held this week in Sherwood Park.

The information night, hosted by the Parents Empowering Parents Society (PEP), is open to the public. A panel of experts will be on hand to provide information and answer questions about the dangerous drug.

“You know how we always say, ‘it takes a village to raise a child?’ Well, it takes a community to save a child who is struggling with substance abuse so that’s what we’re doing,” said Lerena Greig with PEP.

In the first seven months of 2015, 145 people died of fentanyl overdoses in Alberta. It’s a number that’s jumped well over the 2014 figure, when 120 people died of fentanyl overdoses.

“It’s a big public health emergency,” said Mark Snaterse, director of addiction and mental health with Alberta Health Services. “It’s a big problem. People are dying.”

READ MORE: 145 fentanyl-related deaths in Alberta so far in 2015

About 100 times more potent than morphine and 20 times more powerful than OxyContin, fentanyl is a synthetic opiate narcotic primarily prescribed to those with chronic pain. It’s known on the street as green beans, green jellies or street Oxy, and can often show up in other drugs.

“People are taking something that they think is a morphine or an oxycodone or some other type of narcotic and they’re getting fentanyl and they’re dying,” said Snaterse.

READ MORE: Fentanyl 101: The facts and dangers

Between 2009 and 2014, there were at least 1,019 drug poisoning deaths in Canada where post-mortem toxicological screening indicated the presence of fentanyl.

The Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse says more than half of these deaths (525) occurred in the latter two years, 2013 and 2014.

The Life and Death Fentanyl Information Night is being held on Tuesday, Nov. 10 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Strathcona County Community Centre, located at 401 Festival Ave.