A drug that is 100 times more powerful than fentanyl has found a market on Winnipeg streets. Carfentanil, an incredibly powerful opioid, is being distributed in blotter tabs with the street name ‘drop dead’, according to Winnipeg’s police chief.
READ MORE: What is carfentanil? Deadly street drug is causing mass overdoses in the US
“In terms of potency the toxins in carfentanil are 10,000 times that of morphine and about 100 times that of fentanyl. So it takes very minuscule amounts,” Winnipeg Police Chief Danny Smyth said Friday during a police board meeting.
“Carfentanil is designed to be a painkiller for big game animals like elephants and rhinos so it’s a little alarming for us that there seems to be a market.”
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Smyth described the blotter tabs as being similar to the way LSD was distributed in the 70’s.
Because such small quantities are needed the opioid can be shipped into Canada through the mail, primarily from China.
“It’s being designed in labs, there are very few labs that have been discovered in Canada. We know that primarily there are labs in China and Asia that seem to be doing the bulk of it,” Smyth said.
Smyth said it’s “very difficult” for the police service’s current detection methods to find it as it enters the city.
“Carfentanil is at the extreme end of the spectrum.”
RELATED: Winnipeg health officials say opioid crisis is far from over
In 2016 there were 177 overdose deaths in Manitoba, 94 of those were opioid related, Smyth said during the meeting.
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