Drug experts warn of threat from fentanyl

Fears powerful painkiller will reach Tayside and Fife streets

It is the drug which is responsible for hundreds of drug deaths across the US, Canada and now the UK.

And fatal overdoses could “double” in Dundee if killer substance fentanyl, which is between 50 and 100 times more toxic than heroin, makes its way to Tayside and Fife.

An “extremely powerful” painkiller used to treat patients in the advanced stages of cancer, some strains of the drug are so strong that merely breathing in or touching a small amount can lead to a fatal overdose.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) has revealed fentanyl, which is being increasingly used as a heroin additive, has been linked to 113 drug deaths across the UK since 2016.

The service manager for Dundee drug and alcohol treatment group Addaction, Dave Barrie, said the impact on Dundee could be catastrophic if the substance makes its way to the city.

He said: “It is extremely powerful, it is an extremely strong painkiller. It can be between 50 and more times stronger than normal, illicit heroin.

“If you are used to using a drug that is 50 times weaker and then you switch onto a drug like fentanyl then you are putting your life in grave danger.”

He said there is no call for “mass hysteria” as the drug has not made it on to Tayside streets but he is worried it may do so.

“There are obviously some reports down south, and some large concerning reports, but up in Dundee and Tayside so far we have managed to get by without seeing much fentanyl.

“So a lot of our work in Dundee is preparing for it; it may never land.

“We need to be thinking and understanding what our strategies would be if it does come to Dundee.”

Mr Barrie added: “I would describe fentanyl as being pretty well off the scale. I have (worked in) substance misuse for getting on to 25 years and we have seen different trends.

“Fentanyl and that group of drugs is in a different realm of risk simply because of purity. If we start to see that drug in a place like Dundee, and this is just my speculation, I think drug deaths could double.

“Already Dundee has the highest rate of fatal overdose per head of population in Scotland, so we are really struggling with a serious problem here.

“These are human beings who are losing their lives through drug use.

“I think if we were to see more fentanyl coming in, in a small community like Dundee, the impact will be enormous.”

Addaction’s project manager for Fife Gareth Balmer said there are similar concerns about fentanyl across the kingdom.

He added: “It would seem drug death figures are going up everywhere and Fife is no different from anywhere else.

“There is no clear evidence fentanyl is in Fife yet.

“It is definitely around (in Scotland), we are just not seeing what they have seen down south.”

He added drug dealers appeared to be cutting heroin with fentanyl in order to make “a product that seems stronger and more saleable”.

Mr Balmer said should the drug arrive in Fife there “could be a lot of fatalities in a short space of time”.

He added: “It is a real concern. It wouldn’t take very long for it to happen.”

He added that the number one priority is to get people to access treatment to stop and said opioid overdoses can be avoided though use of Naloxone, which Addaction Fife advocates.

Head of the drugs unit and cyberenabled crime at the NCA Lawrence Gibbons said: “We are monitoring the situation.

“Obviously it has inherent risk from being added to user supply where it is unwittingly known or unwittingly taken, which can cause severe complications or in fact death. We’re trying to get an overall picture of what that threat is.”

He added the organisation is committed to identifying “individuals or groups within the United Kingdom that are supplying fentanyl, carfentanyl or its analogues to users within the UK” with a view to prosecution.

There have been some rather depressing headlines this week as the depths of Dundee’s drugs depravity have once again been exposed. With a dozen drug deaths already recorded this year, it seems there is no chance of the city’s rather dubious reputation improving in the near future.

That there is much about which to get excited in Dundee is beyond doubt.

The city stands on the brink of a cultural renaissance, with the waterfront regeneration and construction of the V&A the most tangible examples of much good work happening locally.

However, there are persistent problems — and drug addiction is among the most troubling.

As if the issue was not worrying enough, we today report fresh concerns about killer drug fentanyl.

Already responsible for hundreds of drug deaths across the United States and Canada, it is now starting to appear in the UK.

It is to be hoped the worst case scenarios will not come to pass but it is important to highlight the issue.

Prevention and education remain the most important weapon in the fight against drug addiction — after all nobody deliberately sets out to ruin their life.

By making more people aware of the potentially catastrophic risks, the more likely we are to see death rates falling.

Picture: Getty. Tim Talbot of Portland, US, writes on the memory board in honour of his son Timothy during an Overdose Awareness vigil at Monument Square. Timothy died due to an overdose laced with fentanyl. The drug has caused hundreds of deaths across the United...