Fentanyl is known to have been a contributing factor in two deaths on P.E.I., says chief coroner Dr. Desmond Colohan.

A number of overdose deaths across Canada have prompted concerns. Police on the Island have raised alarms this week about the illegal use of the powerful painkiller as a recreational drug.

Colohan said the problem is already on the Island.

"We've had two deaths in four years that have involved Fentanyl being identified as part of the issue," he said.

"In one of those two cases it was probably the primary cause and in the other it was part of a mixture."

Fentanyl is usually delivered to patients by patch, and Colohan said they are not used often on the Island, and mostly for palliative care.

Colohan says the patches are popular among abusers because they are still potent after being disposed of by a patient. They can be removed from the garbage and concentrated into an injection drug.

Colohan says people who abuse the drug are not aware of how powerful it can be in concentrated.