One death and several opioid overdoses were reported to Montreal Public Health, which is concerned about a “significant circulation” in the metropolis of counterfeit tablets that can be “up to 25 times more powerful” than fentanyl.
“Recently, a death and several overdoses linked to the suspected consumption of hydromorphone were reported,” the Montreal Regional Public Health Directorate (DRSP) said on Friday in an “overdose alert” published on social networks. The affair dates back to a few weeks ago, in March.
The organization says it is particularly “concerned by the significant circulation of counterfeit tablets in its territory”. In this case, the drugs distributed were “white triangular-shaped tablets with rounded corners having an appearance similar to pharmaceutical hydromorphone tablets,” authorities said, adding that a police investigation could take place.
An analysis of the contents of these tablets ultimately “revealed the presence of protonitazepyne and N-desethyl isotonitazene, nitazenes, synthetic opioids up to 25 times more powerful than fentanyl,” continues Public Health.
She specifies that it is often “not possible to visually distinguish a pharmaceutical tablet from a counterfeit tablet, given the resemblance”. Result: tablets purchased on the illicit market may contain a substance or mixture of substances that is very different from what is expected.
In short, “the risks of overdose are high for a person who consumes an opioid from the nitazene class without their knowledge,” warns the DRSP, which invites the population to remain vigilant and to use supervised consumption services or drug checks. drugs, if necessary.
By email, Public Health media relations advisor, Marianne Paquette, specifies that “counterfeit tablets have been a concern for several years.” “However, the illicit market is particularly dynamic and unpredictable and new, increasingly powerful substances are regularly detected. This is the case for the current situation,” she explains.
As a general rule, the DRSP also recommends that consumers avoid consuming alone or “all at the same time” in a group. It is also strongly suggested to have sufficient naloxone available and to decrease the dose of the drug to test its effects, especially if the drug comes from a new source. Naloxone is a medication that temporarily reverses the effects of an opioid overdose.
More and more acute
In Quebec, the National Institute of Public Health (INSPQ) recently revealed that 536 people lost their lives in 2023 linked to opioid poisoning or overdose.
The previous year, there were 540 recorded, which in itself was a marked increase compared to the 450 deaths linked to it in 2021. In 2020, at the height of the pandemic, Quebec recorded 547 deaths linked to drug overdoses. opioids. In 2019, it was 414 and in 2018, 424. In short, the phenomenon has been on the rise for several years, in general.
According to the most recent data, the opioid mortality rate “is lower in Quebec than the average of Canadian provinces”, but it is still increasing steadily. In fact, their numbers more than tripled between 2000 and 2020, going from just under 100 to more than 300 during that time. In recent years, the Quebec average is around five deaths per week attributable to opioids.
Even if its situation remains less alarming than elsewhere, Quebec is “not immune to a tragic setback” in the opioid crisis, the Institute also warned in a report published last October . The organization invites the authorities to keep a “broad-spectrum watch” on the phenomenon.
Several trends are evident according to the INSPQ, including firstly, an over-representation of the homeless population among individuals who have had an involuntary overdose of opioids in the last six months in Quebec. The organization argues that the homeless are “considerably underrepresented among people with a naloxone kit, which necessarily makes them more vulnerable to death by overdose.”
All this comes after a few months ago, last September, nine people, including seven homeless Indigenous people, were transported to hospital for overdoses potentially linked to fentanyl, a case which had marked the spirits in the community. metropolis.