Killer Drug: what you need to know about fentanyl

SASKATOON – When bad drugs hit the street, emergency responders are among the first to know about it.

“We’re starting to see them more and more not only in urban centres, but in the rural areas,” said Troy Davies with MD Ambulance.

In June, Saskatoon paramedics responded to seven opioid overdoses in one night. Fentanyl is the only drug police have had to repeatedly caution against.

“Every time you are taking contraband of any kind you are putting your life at risk and these drug dealers are finding a way to enhance their ‘product’; they want it to be better than the competition so if you doctor it up and cut it with fentanyl naturally it’s going to give you a better high and quicker high, but (it) could also kill you,” said Insp. Jerome Engele with the Saskatoon Police Service.

So, what is it exactly?

Fentanyl is a synthetic painkiller primarily used by cancer patients for pain management, but its finding its way into Canada’s illicit drug market. The problem is if a drug is laced with fetnanyl, there is absolutely no way of knowing how much is in it.

“If you look at the equivalency to morphine for instance, it would easily be 100 times more potent to morphine, so very small amounts can easily lead to overdose,” said Dr. Peter Butt from the Saskatoon Health Region Mental Health & Addiction Services.

Watch the feature Killer Drug on Focus Saskatchewan on Global News in Regina and Saskatoon at 6:30pm September 19th and 20th.