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By Liam Verster
Drug Alert

Interior-wide alert issued for carfentanil in street drugs

Jul 8, 2025 | 10:27 AM

Interior Health has issued a region-wide alert due to tainted drugs that have a high risk of fatal overdose.

The health authority says a substance being sold as ‘Down’ in the region has been found to contain carfentanil, a substance that can be 100 times more potent than fentanyl.

Testing shows the drugs also frequently contain benzodiazapines and tranquilizers, which IH says amplifies the effects of opioids and “significantly heightens the risk of overdose and death.”

IH urged people to have substances tested at a drug checking location, and also encouraged people to never use at a safe consumption site and never alone, to not mix with other substances, and to carry and know how to use Naloxone.

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Dec 13, 2025
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