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Officials say that a recent increase in suspected overdose in a southern Alberta First Nation is due to the deadly synthetic opioid, carfentanil, a drug 100 times more potent than fentanyl.
The Blood Tribe police said they responded to 22 overdoses that occurred between Tuesday and Thursday this week, including a fatal one.
Before this peak, there were 39 overdoses between November 1st and 22nd.
The alleged carfentanil, alleged officials, was mixed with an unknown substance sold to unsuspecting users.
"We all know that illegal drugs are very dangerous, however, drug traffickers continue to attack our community," Blood Tribe Police Chief Kyle Melting Tallow said in a media release. social.
"They take advantage of our vulnerability and the socio-economic situation of the community. Many people are caught in the cycle of addiction and do not know how to ask for help. "
The Blood Tribe EMS reported responding to more than 50 calls for service between Tuesday and Thursday this week for about 10,000 people.
Of the people who overdosed, they said six to eight vials of antidote to opioid overdose, naloxone, were needed to revive each person who overdosed.
The Blood Tribe is located about 200 kilometers south of Calgary.
On Wednesday, March 1, 2017, a billboard on the edge of the Blood Tribe Reserve indicates ways to help end drug problems in the southern Alberta reserve. GAVIN YOUNG / POSTMEDIA NETWORK
In a statement released Thursday on Facebook, Blood Tribune Administration spokesman Rick Tailfeathers said the chief and council members had been made aware of the concern over misuse. of substances in the community.
"We are concerned about the well-being of our tribal members and are again issuing this warning in the hope of preventing deaths," the statement said.
"We have been informed that more overdoses have occurred in recent days and that the alert is not being taken seriously.
"The chief and council are asking all members of the tribe to be vigilant and to ask you to take all necessary steps to inform and warn your family and friends of the dangers of carfentanil."
Sixteen overdoses during the first three months of 2015 prompted the blood band to declare the state of emergency.
The second state of emergency was called in February after carfentanil hit the community.
"We were ill prepared for that. EMS and the police had appalling calls, "said Dr. Esther Tailfeathers, born and raised on the reserve in May.
"They were coming into a house and there were five people who overdosed and who do not respond and breathe. During this weekend, we had 14 overdoses and fortunately no one died. "
In July, 39-year-old Patrick Devine was arrested by the Blood Tribe police after police seized 202 suspected carfentanil tablets with a market value of $ 16,160.
Earlier this year, a report released by Alberta Health indicated that the number of carfentanil deaths in the province had increased by at least 330% between 2016 and 2017.
Requests for comment from the police and the Blood Tribe Administration were not immediately returned.
– With records from the Canadian press
On Twitter: @zjlaing
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