Drug experts are in Ottawa Friday, trying to find a national solution to Canada’s opioid crisis.
B.C. Premier Christy Clark is suggesting that soft drug use is contributing to the problem.
Clark and a B.C. delegation are among those taking part in a two-day opioid summit.
The premier says one of the contributing factors in the shocking spike in overdose deaths is the increasingly liberal attitude society has toward recreational drug use.
She says, in light of what’s happening, it’s more important than ever that we have tight regulations on marijuana.
“We are finding fentanyl in marijuana,” said Clark. “Vancouver Police did a major seizure. They found cocaine with fentanyl, heroin with fentanyl, methamphetamine with fentanyl and marijuana with fentanyl and so one of my concerns with marijuana has always been that people don’t know what they are getting in their product.”
READ MORE: Opioid crisis a national public emergency and Ottawa needs to act, medical experts say
In a statement, Vancouver Police say they have been involved in many investigations where officers find suspects in possession of fentanyl, along with a variety of other drugs, but they have not made any seizures where marijuana contains or is “laced” with fentanyl.
The Ministry of Health confirms this, saying there is no official confirmation of any cases of marijuana laced with fentanyl to date.
However, they say there have been warnings put out by police to be cautious of contamination in any drug, including marijuana, and other anecdotal stories of fentanyl being found in marijuana.
The ministry says the only way to ensure there is no contamination is for medical marijuana users to purchase their pot from one of the 35 producers licensed by Health Canada.
High-profile marijuana activist Dana Larsen also said he has never heard of any marijuana containing fentanyl.
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