What you should know about fentanyl in street drugs

If you're using street drugs on P.E.I. you are at risk of accidentally taking fentanyl, says PEERS Alliance.

Last week, Summerside Police and the Chief Public Health Office warned Islanders about the presence of fentanyl on P.E.I.

Angele DesRoches, a program manager at PEERS Alliance, said fentanyl is a risk even for those who don't think they are taking it.

"If I'm a young festival goer and I'm seeking ecstasy, for example, fentanyl contamination may not be on my mind," said DesRoches.

"But given the state of Canada's street-sourced supply, which is poisoned — our entire supply has been poisoned with fentanyl — so the more we're talking about this the better."

Fentanyl can come mixed with cocaine, ecstasy, methamphetamines, or pressed into pills made to look like pharmaceutical drugs.

Because fentanyl is an opioid 100 times more powerful than morphine, it can be dangerous even if it is not purposely being added to other drugs. Sloppy cleaning of a scale can be enough to mix in enough of the drug to be lethal, said DesRoches.

Naloxone saves lives

Given an ever-present risk of accidental consumption of fentanyl, DesRoches recommended two measures to protect yourself if you are using illicitly-sourced drugs.

• Never use alone.
• Carry a naloxone kit.

Naloxone is a temporary antidote for opioid overdose.

Opioids are depressants, and with an overdose brain function is so suppressed it forgets to tell the body to breathe. An overdose can happen very quickly, with a person collapsing within a minute or two. When mixed with a stimulant such as cocaine an overdose can be more subtle, with a person seeming to fall asleep, but never waking up.

Naloxone can start a person's breathing again.

DesRoches also recommended doing a test dose of any drug you are taking.

"Starting low, reminding yourself that, you know, you can always take more of a substance but you can't take less," she said.

But don't become overconfident, she cautioned. Inadequate mixing could mean one pill in a batch could have far more fentanyl than another. DesRoches compared the the process to making chocolate chip cookies.

"You're not going to get a consistent distribution of chocolate chips in those cookies," she said.

"In the same way you're not going to get consistent or reliable dosage across a batch of illicitly-produced substance."

If you do get into trouble, call 911, even if you have a naloxone kit and the person wakes up.

Naloxone lasts 20 to 90 minutes, but the opioid can last longer, and potentially lead to a second overdose. The person should be under medical care — someone who can recognize the signs of an impending second overdose and react appropriately.