“It could kill you.”
That’s the warning from Christine Hall, the chief of staff of Victoria’s Royal Jubilee Hospital amid a spike in the number of teens who are ending up in the emergency room after taking Xanax.
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The past few weeks has seen an increasing number of young people end up in hospital after ingesting an anti-anxiety drug that, when combined with alcohol or other substances, can have fatal side effects.
“If kids or adults combine it with other drugs or alcohol then you have a big problem with respiratory depression and if you don’t breathe, you won’t survive,” Hall said.
Victoria police say dealers in the city are selling it to students.
“We are concerned about it, we have seen an increase of Xanax in the schools,” said Staff Sgt. Conor King.
And some of the drugs that are circulating could be counterfeit versions of Xanax that have been tainted with fentanyl, King added.
“Thus far, Health Canada has indicated that there are no pills they’ve examined that are Xanax pills that have contained fentanyl but we have recently seized additional pills and we are awaiting test results on those,” he said.
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The people using Xanax range in age from 15 to 25 years old, said Lorna Mace, an outreach worker with the Victoria Youth Clinic.
“We’re seeing a lot of youth coming in either for substance use services or detox services who are saying that’s their primary drug right now,” she said.
“It’s easier to access than alcohol and cigarettes.”
Health authorities in the Lower Mainland and the Fraser Valley say Xanax use has not been an issue in its hospitals.
Christine Hall warns, “if you’re not meant to be on Xanax, you should not be taking Xanax.