Health unit prescribes public awareness about fentanyl
Fentanyl, both the legal and the illegal varieties, is the new drug scourge for police and health authorities in the province. In Eastern Ontario, the regional health unit is focusing much of its efforts in combating the drug problem through public awareness, with special attention to the youth sector of the population.
“We’ve been monitoring this situation for a year now,” said Dr. Paul Roumeliotis, chief medical officer for the Eastern Ontario Health Unit (EOHU).
So far, he noted, the EOHU has not determined any increase in the number of actual drug-related deaths due to fentanyl within its jurisdiction. Whether that means a stable situation or not is not possible to determine with certainty yet.
Fentanyl is a prescription drug used for pain management for patients following surgery or in some cases for people who suffer chronic pain. It is a synthetic opiod, similar to morphine but it is 50 to 100 times more potent.
The EOHU approach to the situation has focused on making sure young people are aware of the risks for both fentanyl and its illegal street version. The health unit has twice sent out notices to all school districts and their schools, warning them of the danger of drug use and abuse, with emphasis on the increasing presence of fentanyl on the regional drug scene.
Dr. Roumeliotis noted that the streetversion of fentanyl is more dangerous than the over-the-counter version. Homemade fentanyl, he said, is more pure than the commercial version, which means it is more potent with a greater chance of an overdose occurring.
He also noted that drug dealers may also pass off fentanyl, whether the commercial form or the homemade version, as some other kind of pill, like Xanax, to their clients, both the hardcore addicts and those experimenting with drugs for the first time. Newcomers to the drug scene could end up overdosing on a fentanyl-laced pill, the first time they try it.
“Anything off the street is dangerous,” Dr. Roumeliotis said. “Please, do not take anything you get off the street.”
The CrimeStoppers program has announced a recent increase in the reward offered for anonymous tips on fentanyl dealers, production and distribution of the drug.