Police warn of dangers of drug carfentanil on city streets

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This article was published 29/09/2016 (3351 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg police confirmed Thursday a drug they seized earlier this month in Winnipeg was the animal tranquilizer carfentanil, which can be deadly to humans.

The Winnipeg seizure is the first time that carfentanil has been detected in paper blotter form, Deputy Police Chief Danny Smyth said at a press conference.

“Our purpose here is to sound the alarm,” said Smyth.

The concern is that the potent synthetic opioid is being mixed with other street drugs such as cocaine and methamphetamine, and users don’t know it until they’ve overdosed — if they survive.

One Winnipeg mother — whose son didn’t survive — attended the press conference to warn other parents.

“If it could happen to my family, it could happen to yours,” said Arlene Last-Kolb, who lost her 24-year-old son Jessie to a fentanyl drug overdose two years ago. She attended the police press conference to let people know how vital it is to have available naloxone —- the antidote that can save the life of someone who has overdosed on fentanyl or carfentanil.

“Street drugs are not what they used to be,” said Last-Kolb. Her son wasn’t treated right away, and died four months after he overdosed.

She wants naloxene kits made available throughout Manitoba.

Dr Joss Reimer, Winnipeg Regional Health Authority medical director of health, said paramedics carry naloxone, and kits can be obtained for free at Street Connections downtown. The mobile public service which the WRHA operates at 496 Hargrave St. and gives out free kits of the overdose antidote. It can also be purchased at some pharmacies without a prescription.

So far, there have been no confirmed carfentanil overdoses or deaths in Winnipeg, said Reimer.

She wants it to stay that way.

Reimer urged drug users not to take any new street drugs, not to use drugs alone, and not to mix drugs with alcohol or any other drugs —  if they do so, an overdose is much harder to treat.

Carfentanil is used as a tranquilizer or anaesthetic for large animals, such as elephants. It is 10,000 times stronger than morphine and 100 times more potent than fentanyl, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration says.

Police arrested a 37-year-old man Winnipeg on Sept. 12after raiding a West End hotel and seizing 1,477 doses of what was believed to be carfentanil with an estimated street value of $30,000.

Grayson Richard Parris of Winnipeg faces several drug-related charges, including trafficking.