Counterfeit Xanax | “You stop living”

Devastation of counterfeit Xanax grows in Montreal, experts warn

Florence Morin-Martel
Press

More and more present on the black market, Xanax, an anti-anxiety drug, threatens to become the “next social crisis”, fear of interveners working in addiction. In the streets, Xanax is already wreaking havoc: last year, paramedics intervened more than ever for reports related to this potentially fatal substance.

“You stop living when you use that, nothing bothered me anymore,” says Eric Tremblay, who stopped using Xanax about four years ago. “It did me too much good”, but this drug is a “double edged” knife, continues Mr. Tremblay. “It can help you when you need it, but in the long run, it creates a pretty strong dependency,” he warns.

Last year, the number of reports made to Urgences-santé in connection with Xanax skyrocketed, from 106 calls in 2019 to 144 in 2020. This year, calls related to this substance amounted to 96 in date of November 3, according to figures obtained by Press.

Over the past four months, the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) has seized a total of nearly 190,000 counterfeit Xanax tablets in the West Island.

Figures that say that Xanax will be “the next crisis that we will talk about on the social level”, supports the D^D Marie-Ève ​​Morin, family doctor working in mental health and addiction.

Xanax, which is part of the benzodiazepine family like Ativan or Valium, is a drug prescribed by doctors to treat anxiety, nervous shocks, panic attacks or epilepsy. Underground labs also manufacture Xanax, the trade name for alprazolam, which is growing on the black market.

These counterfeit tablets do not contain the usual active ingredient found in the drug, but rather derivative substances, which are sometimes stronger and in larger quantities. On the street, they are usually sold for between $ 2 and $ 5.

In recent months, Xanax and other derivatives have been found in substances sold like heroin. Fentanyl, an opioid 40 times more powerful than heroin, has also been found in counterfeit Xanax tablets, explains Jean-François Mary, CEO of Cactus, a community organization for the prevention of sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections (STBBI ).

Consuming this mixture of substances without knowing it is “dangerous”, continues Jean-François Mary. Since both are depressants, the risk of overdosing increases. For someone who has no opioid tolerance and unwittingly uses fentanyl, the result can be fatal, he warns.

The population that consumes Xanax on the black market ranges from “young people in high school to people in their sixties,” says Jean-François Mary. Many people start using these substances to “alleviate the feeling of anxiety that paralyzes them”, also observes Mr. Mary. Without necessarily being aware of the heavy dependence that can come with this feeling of “well-being”.

While the circulation of “fake” Xanax in the street is not new, new substances are appearing in the country. In the past year, the phenomenon has grown and now represents “a public health concern,” said Carole Morissette, medical consultant at the Regional Directorate of Public Health (DRSP) of Montreal.

Life-threatening addiction

Physical addiction to Xanax is more dangerous than that to heroin, says D^D Morin. Stopping it on a “snap” basis can lead to delirium tremens, syndrome due to withdrawal from this substance.

Seizures, agitation in the heart, pressure and fever: one delirium tremens is a traumatic and potentially fatal experience, summarizes the D^D Morin.

Heroin users find themselves having to withdraw in the hospital because they used Xanax without their knowledge, observes Mr. Mary. When they exit, they buy what they think is heroin or similar substances, but they are again left with a mixture that contains counterfeit Xanax. Back to square one before hospitalization. “It’s very depressing for them,” says Jean-François Mary.

Antidote to overdose

In addition to mixing with opioids which can be fatal, consuming Xanax with alcohol or GHB greatly increases the risk of overdose.

Unlike the opioid world, where a great deal of awareness has been done to intervene in overdoses, people who use Xanax are not used to reacting when one of them experiences this situation, notes Mr. Mary. Naloxone, used to treat fentanyl overdoses, does not work with Xanax. Fortunately, there is an antidote, flumazenil, which is especially accessible in hospital because it must be administered intravenously, explains Dr.^D Morin.