Fentanyl found in cannabis in Ontario: really?

In the city of London, Ontario (Canada), the police and the Health Department have alerted residents. Fentanyl was found in cannabis and other drugs circulating in the city.

Fentanyl is an opioid that was first synthesized in Belgium in the 1950s. A highly potent analgesic, it can be 40 times stronger than heroin. In London, urine tests carried out on cannabis users reportedly revealed the presence of fentanyl in the samples, according to an article in the local media, the London Free Press.

Dr. Chris Mackie, city physician explains. «Finding fentanyl in drugs like marijuana means that people who think they're consuming something harmless could die of an overdose.».

On the other hand, Middlesex-London Health Unit explained that fentanyl is also in vogue on the streets of London as it is processed into a white powder which is then sold as cocaine.

No real proof according to Health Canada

However, Nick Boyce, a physician with the Ontario HIV and Substance Use Training Program, explains that «the only way to prove that there is fentanyl in the drug is to analyze it».

Government Ministry Health Canada received test samples and told Radio Canada that «Of all the seized cannabis samples that have been sent to Health Canada, not a trace of fentanyl has been found».

Nick Boyce argues that the real problem isn't cannabis, which supposedly contains traces of fentanyl, but the risk of overdose from opiates.

With the Canadian ministry having found nothing, representatives of the Middlesex-London Public Health Office nonetheless felt that it was appropriate to have issued a warning to the population, particularly as the country is preparing for the legalization of recreational cannabis by July 1, 2018 which will help avoid this kind of setback in cannabis dispensaries.

Mehdi Bautier