P.A. police discover drug 2C-B during bust

A 19-year-old man is charged with drug trafficking after the Prince Albert city police had their first dealings with a drug known as 2C-B.

“After encountering it and doing a little bit of research about it, it is concerning and hopefully this isn’t a trend that’s about to start in Prince Albert,” Sgt. Travis Willie said.

On Monday, officers were called to a home to help paramedics who were responding to a report of a drug overdose. Six people in all were taken to hospital.

As a result, officers on Tuesday executed a search warrant at a home in the 300 block of 11th Street East and seized “a quantity of unknown substances,” Prince Albert police said in a news release on Wednesday.

They charged a 19-year-old man with criminal negligence causing bodily harm, possession of proceeds of crime, and trafficking dimethoxybenzeneethanamine — known on the street as 2C-B or Nexus and often sold as ecstasy or LSD. It’s a synthetic psychedelic drug that causes hallucinations, overheating that can lead to seizures, and increased heart rate and blood pressure. “There are some serious medical outcomes that come from taking this drug,” Willie said.

There’s no evidence to suggest the man charged with selling the drugs was making them, and police have hopefully got on top of the issue, Willie said. The investigation is ongoing.

The man’s name was not released. He is scheduled to make his first court appearance in Prince Albert provincial court on March 7.

A spokeswoman said Saskatoon city police have not encountered the drug.