Police agencies throughout Alberta have been seizing record amounts of illicitly produced fentanyl, which contributed to or caused over 100 deaths last year.

Produced in clandestine laboratories, the drug is a potent synthetic opioid analgesic that can appear in the form of pills or powder. It is often referred to as "greenies" when sold on the street, and sold as OxyContin to unsuspecting users.

According to police, the drug can easily be mistaken for OxyContin since pills are similar in colour and identifying marks. The problem, however, is that fentanyl is about 100 times more potent than morphine and 20 times more potent than OxyContin. Even one dose can be fatal.

Last year, the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team (ALERT) seized 14,000 tablets from various communities. Another 10,000 tablets were seized by RCMP in Grande Prairie, 60,000 tablets west of Calgary and 3,927 tablets in Sherwood Park.

Given there were six deaths from the drug in 2011 compared to more than 100 deaths in 2014, the use of illicit fentanyl is a trend RCMP find alarming.

"There has been several reports throughout Alberta from our different detachments where members attend a sudden death of people that are believed to have used this substance," said Edmonton RCMP K-Division spokesperson Sgt. Josee Valiquette.

"It's alarming when people die unnecessarily of this substance. Any use of illicitly produced or street drug is always a cause for concern. You never know what you're really taking, but this one is fatal, even in small quantities."

Emergency room physician Dr. Mark Yarema says fentanyl is an effective pain killer often used to treat individuals with chronic cancer pain or broken bones. If taken in excess, however, the drug lowers the heart rate, blood pressure and makes a person sleepy to the point where they can become unconscious and stop breathing.

Fentayl appeared on the radar of Alberta Health Services in 2013 when officials began receiving advisories from B.C. and Ontario, which were seeing a rise in fentanyl toxicities and poisonings. In the Edmonton zone alone, there were 12 deaths in 2013 where fentanyl was thought to be a contributing factor and another 38 the following year, causing health officials to become increasingly concerned.

Yarema said it's not just addicts that are dying due to the effects of the drug, but also people who are trying "party drugs." In a number of recent deaths, several other drugs were found in blood samples, including a veterinary medicine called xylazine, used on large animals during castration procedures.

"We think part of the problem is that it's not just the fentanyl; it's probably the combination of these two (drugs) that are killing people," said Yarema. "It emphasizes the fact that the users...they have no idea what other drugs are in there so they are really playing Russian roulette."

pamela.roth@sunmedia.ca

@SUNpamelaroth