A new drug 25 times more powerful than fentanyl has just arrived on the streets of the metropolis and has made Montreal’s public health fear the worst.
Indeed, one death and several overdoses are linked to the consumption of hydromorphone, better known as Dilaudid, a powerful opioid analgesic which is consumed in the form of tablets. Those sold on the black market are almost identical to those found in pharmacies.
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Montreal authorities take the situation very seriously and are calling for vigilance.
“What we want is to ensure that stakeholders and clinicians who work with people who use drugs are informed,” says Carole Morissette, medical consultant at the Montreal Public Health Department. “[On veut] also that the general population is made aware of the current dangerousness of the black market which is truly unpredictable.”
Carole Morissette, medical consultant at the Montreal Public Health Department
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Drug users are urged to take all necessary precautions to avoid overdoses.
“We invite people to use supervised consumption services if they are injectors,” recalls the DD Morissette. “[Elles peuvent] attend drug testing services. […] Consuming alone puts you at risk [ces] people.”
Remember that naloxone, which acts as an antidote to opioid-related overdoses, is available free of charge and without a prescription in pharmacies and in certain health establishments.