In a region this size, more than 60 drug poisonings in 48 hours is not a bad weekend. It is a public health emergency unfolding in real time. Drug alerts in northwestern Ontario have been issued four times in less than a week, one of them tied directly to that surge in the Kenora area.
The Northwestern Health Unit said the poisonings needed multiple doses of naloxone, did not always reverse, and sent people to hospital. Dealers are selling the substance as down, and it has turned up orange, purple, blue and white. Kenora has been hit hardest, and the health unit has also recorded an uptick in Atikokan and Ignace. The drug alerts in northwestern Ontario arrived within days of each other.
What does testing keep finding in the supply?
What testing keeps finding is the part that should alarm people well outside the region. A sample sent for testing in May was confirmed by Health Canada as clodesnitazene, a synthetic nitazene opioid of unknown strength, which is precisely why officials worry about it. That sample also tested positive for ethylbromazolam, a benzodiazepine, along with carfentanil, the veterinary tranquillizer medetomidine, caffeine and dimethylsulphone. Toronto's Drug Checking Service first detected clodesnitazene on 28 April, and it reached northwestern Ontario by mid-May.
Separately, NorWest Community Health Centres issued an alert in Thunder Bay this week after a pill sold as OxyContin tested positive for etonitazene, another high-potency nitazene considered about 50 times stronger than fentanyl. A fourth alert warned people in the Red Lake area about an unknown substance being sold as cocaine and hydromorphone. Pills that look pharmaceutical are not necessarily pharmaceutical. That is a different problem from a genuine recall, where the lot number answers it. It is also why what your pharmacist wishes you knew before mixing medications applies even more strongly to anything bought outside one.
How many people have died this year?
How many people have died is the figure behind the laboratory findings. The health unit recorded 17 suspected drug-related deaths in the region between 1 May and 25 August of this year, eight of them in May alone. Sudbury's Go-Give Project, a frontline harm reduction organization, said its teams have responded to people who had stopped breathing and needed CPR. What is happening in Kenora should concern every community in Ontario, the group posted, and governments must step up.
Why can nobody judge a substance by its name?
All four alerts share one line. Why nobody can judge a substance comes down to this: the name on the street tells you nothing about the contents. Suppliers press nitazenes into pills that look pharmaceutical and mix them into drugs sold under familiar names. Their potency turns a single use into an overdose even for someone with high tolerance. Sedation runs deep and long. Health Canada takes the same line on products sold online, which is what the injunction against an unauthorized peptide seller was about. Alcohol is frequently in the same picture, and how much is actually considered low risk in Canada is lower than most people assume.
Where do you get naloxone, and what else helps?
Where to get naloxone is the most useful thing in this article. It is free through the Northwestern Health Unit and through pharmacies across Ontario, and it is worth having even if you are only occasionally around someone who uses. Free drug testing kits are available at the health unit, and NorWest Community Health Centres runs a mobile drug checking service that analyzes small samples.
Officials are asking people to call 911 immediately if someone shows signs of an overdose and to stay with them until help arrives. The Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act provides some legal protection to the person making that call, which exists precisely so that fear of charges never stops somebody from saving a life. The signs to know are slowed or stopped breathing, unresponsiveness, and blue or grey lips or nails. This is a northwestern Ontario story today, and the substances involved travelled there from elsewhere and are already turning up in other parts of the province. Drug alerts in northwestern Ontario are worth reading well beyond Kenora.
What else are readers asking?
What is a nitazene?
A class of synthetic opioids not approved for medical use anywhere, appearing in the unregulated supply. Potencies vary enormously, and some are far stronger than fentanyl, with etonitazene estimated at roughly 50 times. Clodesnitazene's strength is not yet established, which is one reason officials treat it as especially dangerous.
Where do I get a free naloxone kit in Ontario?
Most pharmacies across Ontario supply them free, as do public health units and many community health centres. You do not need to be the person who uses substances to carry one, and you do not need a prescription. Ask at the pharmacy counter, and they will show you how to use it.
What are the signs of an opioid overdose?
Slowed or stopped breathing, unresponsiveness, and blue or grey lips or nails. With nitazenes in the supply, sedation can be unusually deep and prolonged, and multiple doses of naloxone may be needed. Call 911 first, give naloxone, and stay with the person until help arrives.
Does the Good Samaritan Act protect me if I call 911?
The Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act provides some legal protection from simple possession charges for people who call for help during an overdose and for those present. It does not cover every offence. It exists so that fear of charges does not stop somebody from calling, and health officials are explicit that calling is always the right move.
If the person you are worried about is not you, how to check in on a friend who is struggling covers what to actually say.
Drug poisoning and substance use are difficult subjects to read about. If you or someone you care about uses substances, free naloxone kits are available at most pharmacies across Canada and through public health units. You do not need to be the person who uses in order to carry one. Call 911 immediately if someone shows signs of an overdose and stay with them. Canada's Suicide Crisis Helpline can be reached by calling or texting 988 at any hour.
This article is general information and not medical advice. If you are having a medical emergency, call 911. For anything non-urgent, speak with a doctor or another qualified health professional about your own situation.
Naloxone kits are free at most pharmacies across Canada. You can compare pharmacies near you and see current availability on Medimap, or browse the Medimap Health Hub for more on medication and substance safety.
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