Written by John Lounsbury
This Vice video presents an immersive and personal feature film about the fentanyl crisis in Canada told from the perspective of a community of drug users. This video has been edited from its original version due to privacy concerns surrounding one of its subjects.
As big a problem as Fentanyl is, Canadian Border Services Agency announced that earlier this summer a dangerous drug called carfentanil was seized in a package from China destined for Calgary. A potent synthetic drug more powerful than fentanyl, carfentanil is known for being a large animal tranquilizer and for its alleged use as a chemical weapon by the Russian military.
This is not the first time carfentanil destined for the illicit drug market has been found in North America. In July, health officials in Ohio issued a warning about the drug after a string of mass overdoses where the substance was found in the heroin supply. Over just three days, 25 overdoses were reported in Akron, Ohio – four of which were fatal; and in Columbus, ten overdoses occurred in a nine-hour window, including two fatal ones. A man in Ohio was charged in connection to a death and a number of overdoses following the incidents.
For more see
Everything You Should Know About Carfentanil, the Drug Even Deadlier Than Fentanyl (Vice).
Drug Linked to Ohio Overdoses Can Kill in Doses Smaller than a Snowflake (The New York Times)
Cincinnati Hit With Wave of 50 Heroin Overdoses in 2 Days (abc News)
Source: YouTube
