The Canadian Press
WINNIPEG—Lab tests are being done on samples taken from hundreds of drug doses seized in Winnipeg this week to determine whether a dangerous opioid 100 times more powerful than fentanyl has arrived in the city.
Police say officers discovered upwards of 1,500 doses at a west-end hotel on Monday that they suspect is carfentanil—a drug used on elephants.
A 37-year-old Winnipeg man is facing several drug-related charges, including trafficking.
Police also have issued a bulletin stating that carfentanil easily can cause overdose death or long-term health problems.
The bulletin urges drug users to contact Street Connections, the mobile public health service run by the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, which gives out free kits with the overdose antidote naloxone.
The bulletin notes police took the unusual step to warn the public before the test results came back because carfentanil is so dangerous.
“If you are using heroin, fentanyl, carfentanil, or any other similar drug, it is important you have a naloxone overdose prevention kit with you at all times,” it states.
“Because carfentanil is so toxic, you may need several doses of naloxone to reverse an overdose,” it adds.
Shelley Marshall, a nurse clinician at Street Connections, noted that even touching carfentanil can be deadly.
“It would kill a police officer if he or she put their hands in it, and it’s being absorbed through the skin,” she warned.
“We thought oxycontin was bad,” Marshall added.
“Then we had fentanyl and now we have carfentanil.”
