Fort St. John RCMP report 3 possible overdose deaths as new toxic drug circulates in region
Northern Health issues alert for synthetic opioid being sold as painkiller
RCMP in Fort St. John, B.C., have issued a warning after three people died of apparent overdoses in a single week.
The police force says between April 3 and 9, officers "were called to the scene of three sudden deaths where the cause was believed to be consistent with an opioid overdose" in the community of approximately 21,000 people.
At the same time, police say, they have come across counterfeit Oxycodone tablets containing the synthetic opioid isotonitazene, also known as sotonitazene or nitazene, which they describe "as potent or more potent than fentanyl."
Created in the 1950s as potential pain relievers, the drugs were never approved for clinical use.
However, they have emerged within recreational drug supplies in the United States, Canada and European countries since 2019.
Scientists have relatively little information about how the human body reacts to nitazenes because the chemicals have never gone through clinical trials that offer a chance to find out.
Northern Health issued a public warning about the drug, saying that while it cannot be detected by fentanyl strips, it can be treated using naloxone, though a greater dose may be needed.
People who use drugs are reminded not to use alone and to have a plan in case of an overdose.
Fort St. John has a single overdose prevention site, open Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.