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Protonitazepyne has been detected in counterfeit Percocet 30mg tablets.
Photo : Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
Posted at 12:12 p.m. EDT
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A recent non-fatal overdose experienced by a teenager from Quebec pushes the public health department of the Capitale-Nationale to warn parents and young people about dangerous counterfeit drugs in circulation.
Last spring, the public health department of the CIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale was concerned about the presence of protonitazepyne — a synthetic opioid 25 times more powerful than fentanyl — in counterfeit drugs in Quebec City.
A teenager from Quebec overdosed in September after consuming this opioid which was hidden in fake Percocet 30 mg tablets (nicknamed Perc 30). Laboratory analyzes made it possible to detect protonitazepyne in the victim of this overdose. These tablets may circulate among a younger clientele who are inexperienced in terms of opioids.
Writes the CIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale in a press release released Monday.
The CIUSSS specifies that young people who use this drug or other counterfeit opioids are at high risk of having a “serious overdose”.
Percocet is a tablet usually prescribed for moderate to severe pain. It contains acetaminophen (Tylenol) and oxycodone. Counterfeit tablets are identical in appearance, but contain much more powerful opioids, therefore posing a high risk of overdose.
Source : CIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale
Public health asks drug users to be vigilant and avoid using alone. Naloxone kits can prevent a fatal overdose, it is said.
More details to come.
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