WINNIPEG — It’s heroin laced with elephant tranquilizers, and 100 times more potent than fentanyl. Now the Winnipeg police say carfentanil is in Winnipeg.
On Thursday afternoon, police and Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (WRHA) addressed the media about a recent carfentanil seizure in the city.
On Sept. 12, police executed a search warrant at a West End hotel, where they found 1,477 blotter tabs that contained carfentanil, with an estimated street value of about $30,000.
READ MORE: Deadly carfentanil drug possibly uncovered in Winnipeg
Over the past two months, there have been a number of drug busts in Canada related to the deadly drug.
WATCH: Winnipeg police say carfentanil is in now in Winnipeg
Last month, RCMP inspectors charged a Calgary man after they intercepted a one-kilogram package of the drug.
READ MORE: Police intercept deadly opioid carfentanil: ‘50M doses could’ve hit our streets’
Health Canada, for its part, is ramping up efforts to tame the “crisis” it’s seeing within our borders.
“Health Canada is deeply concerned about the growing number of opioid-related overdoses and deaths associated with street drugs, such as illicitly produced fentanyl, as well as pharmaceutical opioids, in British Columbia, as well in other parts of Canada,” the department said in a statement to Global News.
What is carfentanil?
Carfentanil is a synthetic opioid that’s grouped with heroin, fentanyl and oxycodone.
“Carfentanil is an analogue of fentanyl with an analgesic potency 10,000 times that of morphine and is used in veterinary practice to immobilize certain large animals,” the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration says on its website.
WATCH: New drug carfentanil seized at Vancouver airport
“Carfentanil is intended for large-animal use only as its extreme potency makes it inappropriate for use in humans,” the National Library of Medicine explains in its compound summary for the drug.
It looks like table salt, but just a few granules is enough to trigger a fatal overdose, DEA spokesman Russ Baer told TIME.
Frontline emergency responders have to wear gloves and masks to protect themselves from accidentally ingesting even miniscule amounts of the substance.
Life-saving drug, naloxone
Naloxone is a life-saving drug that is used to temporarily reverse an overdose of fentanyl or other opioids, allowing the victim time to get emergency medical help.
Winnipeg police said naloxone can be purchased from “any pharmacy, without a prescription.” However, Global News went to a handful of inner city pharmacies and called several more around the city and were not able to find the drug.
READ MORE: Accessing the drug that reverses a fentanyl overdose is a challenge
On Thursday, Global News asked the WRHA why the life-saving drug wasn’t available at most pharmacies.
The WRHA said this is because pharmacies are private companies and the healthy authority cannot force them to sell it.
WATCH: Accessing the naloxone a challenge in Winnipeg
The Winnipeg police do no carry naloxone kits, but did suggest officers may start.
Edmonton police recently announced officers will soon carry carry naloxone spray. Calgary and Vancouver police already carry the antidote.
With files from Carmen Chai
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