Illegal drugs circulating in Hamilton, Burlington could be deadly
Published April 10, 2024 at 12:39 pm
Illegal drugs that have been found circulating in Hamilton and Burlington may be lethal.
Hamilton police say that drugs seized in a raid last month are purposely mislabeled to make them appear to be OxyContin. After testing it has been found that the illegally produced concoctions are much more powerful.
“The pills were tested by Health Canada and were found to contain a benzimidazole (nitazene),” police say. “Nitazene opioids can be significantly more potent than fentanyl and are highly dangerous when mistaken for fentanyl or other opioids.”
Police say that ingesting these drugs can lead to poisoning or prove to be fatal.
The pills seized by police and the ones they are worried about are stamped “TEC”. The raid undercovered 2,000 pills but officials fear that more remain in circulation.
Police say in the event of poisoning several rounds of naloxone may be needed to respond.
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If you obtain drugs from the street, Hamilton police suggest you take the following steps:
- Careful Use – Test the effect with small amounts first and don’t use alone
- Call the overdose prevention line (NORS): 1-888-688-6677
- Use at the Consumption and Treatment Services (CTS) site and get your drugs checked at 70 James Street South in Hamilton
- Carry Naloxone – To get a free naloxone kit and training email [email protected] or visit www.hamilton.ca/naloxone
- Call 911 for every drug poisoning. Perform CPR.