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High grade fentanyl influx in Ottawa people PLEASE be safe!!!



And carry Naloxone!!! — DUAL Ottawa (@DUALOttawa) April 21, 2017

Sean LeBlanc, chair of the advocacy group, said in an interview Sunday that users have reported a potent new batch of fentanyl has arrived in the city from Western Canada.

“And we are very worried,” LeBlanc added, “because the Ontario Works and the Ontario Disability Support Program cheque cycle is coming this week, which always brings with it an increase in overdoses.”

He said local doctors have compounded the problem by substantially reducing pain medication prescriptions in response to what is now seen an opioid epidemic. That has forced some people, LeBlanc said, to turn to street dealers in search of potential alternatives, such as fentanyl or carfentanil.

The Ottawa Hospital reported that its emergency staff dealt with six suspected overdose cases on Saturday, and on Sunday afternoon Ottawa paramedics responded to a report of a 36-year-old woman in a car suffering a drug overdose and foaming at the mouth.

The weekend events followed a public warning about a city-wide surge in opioid overdoses. Public health officials said Friday that Ottawa hospitals dealt with 15 potentially life-threatening overdose-related emergency room visits during a 72-hour period late last week.

Andrew Hendriks, manager of clinical services at Ottawa Public Health and chair of the Ottawa Overdose Prevention and Response Task Force, warned drug users to carry naloxone, a medication that temporarily reverses the effects of an opioid overdose.