Carfentanil found at scene of a deadly overdose in Vancouver
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – A drug normally used to sedate elephants is now being linked to an overdose death for the first time in BC’s history.
The BC Coroner’s Service and the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) say the highly toxic opioid carfentanil was found on November 17th in the East Vancouver apartment of a 39-year-old man who had died of an overdose.
“This is the first confirmed death linked to carfentanil in Vancouver,” says Sergeant Randy Fincham. “Unfortunately, we suspect this death won’t be the last.”
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The VPD confirmed last week that carfentanil had been detected in a sample of confiscated drugs, but no deaths were involved in that case.
The province is already in the throws of an opioid epidemic thanks to fentanyl. By comparison, this new opioid is believed to be 100 times more toxic.
“We say in about 60 per cent of the illicit drug deaths this year in the province, fentanyl has been detected. So take that several-orders-of-magnitude-more-dangerous drug, and mix it in,” says Barb McLintock with the BC Coroner’s Service.
She adds they can’t say for certain if carfentanil caused the man’s death, because the testing apparatus for determining that isn’t in place yet. They hope to have it set up by the end of the year.
Efforts have been made to distribute naloxone kits, which can temporarily reverse an opioid overdose, but McLintock says carfentanil is so toxic, even naloxone might not be effective.
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“It would probably help, but I don’t think anybody is quite sure yet how many hits of naloxone you might have to give, depending obviously on how much carfentanil had been in the drug the person took,” she explains.
Police continue to warn drug users of the dangers of opioids, and to be aware of the signs of an overdose like severe sleepiness, slow heartbeat, and breathing difficulties.
Early signs of an opioid overdose include
- severe sleepiness
- slow heartbeat
- trouble breathing or slow, shallow breathing or snoring
- cold, clammy skin
- trouble with walking or talking
