Powerful street drug packaged as pill may be killing people in northern B.C.: RCMP
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 10/04/2025 (350 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
FORT ST. JOHN – Very toxic illicit drugs are circulating through Fort St. John, B.C., which Mounties say are believed to have led to three deaths within a week.
RCMP say in a news release that between April 3 and April 9 they were called to the scene of three sudden deaths, and all appeared consistent with an opioid overdose.
Police say their officers have recently come across a powerful synthetic opioid called isotonitazene, which was being sold in counterfeit Oxycodone tablets.
The warning from police comes two weeks after the Northern Health authority issued a similar warning about a round, white pill being sold on the streets that has tested positive for the same opioid.
Northern Health’s advisory says the drug is equal to or more toxic than fentanyl and is not detected on fentanyl test strips.
Const. Chad Neustaeter with the Fort St. John RCMP detachment says the potency of each street pill can vary significantly, similar to chocolate chip cookies where some have six chips and others have 16, but for opioids it can be fatal.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 10, 2025.