Fentanyl has yet to make an appearance in Jasper, but that doesn鈥檛 mean it isn鈥檛 already here.
According to Alberta Health Services, the toxic drug was responsible for killing 272 people in Alberta in 2015, up from 120 people killed in 2014.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid drug used primarily as a painkiller, but in recent years police and other front line workers have discovered that illicit fentanyl powder is being mixed with other street drugs, such as heroin, or being pressed into pills and sold on the street disguised as other drugs.聽 聽
According to Health Canada, fentanyl is many times more powerful than other opioid drugs, such as morphine, and abuse or misuse can lead to death, even in small amounts.
Police describe the pill as greenish in colour and on the street it is sometimes referred to as shady eighties or green beans, among other names.聽
鈥淚 personally haven鈥檛 seen it, but I think there鈥檚 opioid use around,鈥� said Tasha Porttin, a pharmacist at Rexall.
The number of overdoses has become so alarming that the province has begun providing pharmacies with free naloxone kits鈥攁 medication that can counteract an opioid overdose.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a harm reduction device,鈥� said Porttin, adding her pharmacy currently has two of the kits on hand as well as safe injection kits for people who inject drugs. 聽 聽
鈥淚t鈥檚 super important because people overdose everyday, whether we like to think about it or not.鈥澛�
She said each kit comes with a syringe and two vials of naloxone, which in a best-case scenario gives someone who has overdosed 30 minutes to get to the hospital (each vial counteracts an opioid overdose for approximately 15 minutes).
The kits also include alcohol swabs and a CPR mask, as well as instructions.
In most cases naloxone will have to be injected by someone else because the person who has overdosed will likely be non responsive. The kit can also be used to counteract other opioid overdoses caused by drugs such as morphine or codeine.
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 have to be using fentanyl to get these kits, the only stipulation is that you are an opioid user, so whether you鈥檙e a recreational user once a month or not, I want you to have a kit,鈥� said Porttin, who is authorized to prescribe drugs.
To pick up a kit an opioid user will need a prescription from a doctor or an authorized pharmacist. Kits will also be available at Pharmasave in the near future.聽
鈥淭hese kits are here, they鈥檙e covered by Alberta Health and we want to save lives, because that is literally what this is going to do. It will save lives, no questions asked,鈥� said Porttin.
Paul Clarke [email protected]
