Pubdate: Thu, 06 Feb 2014
Source: Metro (Calgary, CN AB)
Copyright: 2014 Metro Canada
Contact:  http://www.metronews.ca/Calgary
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4471
Author: Jeremy Nolais

SPIKE IN HEROIN CASES CONCERNS CALGARY POLICE

Dangerous drug in spotlight after death of Oscar winner

Calgary police seized heroin more often in 2013 than the year prior,
including some laced with a deadly painkiller known as fentanyl.

Use of both drugs have been thrust into the spotlight in recent days
following the death of award-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman.

In Calgary, police seized heroin 46 times last year, up from 28 in
2012.

Staff Sgt. Tom Hanson said Wednesday his team is concerned by the rise
but further investigation is needed to determine a reason for the
spike in busts.

The city's top drug cop also confirmed at least counterfeit versions
of fentanyl have been found among the seizures. Heroin laced with the
painkiller has been linked to dozens of deaths south of the border in
areas like Maryland and Pennsylvania.

Hanson said those cases confirm a long-standing cautionary tale from
police to drug users.

"You don't know what you're getting," he said. "It's highly addictive
- - it's highly dangerous. If what you're getting from your local
trafficker is heroin - and nothing but heroin - that in and of itself
is extremely dangerous."

Both Hanson and Danene Lenstra, a program lead at the Alex Youth
Health Centre, suggested the rise in use of both heroin and fentanyl
could be linked directly to the removal of OxyContin. The frequently
abused opioid was replaced in 2012 by a product that cannot be
injected, smoked or sniffed.

Lenstra said she's had at risk youth tell her they've ingested
fentanyl, adding some drug dealers are selling the heavy hitting
painkiller under the guise that it's OxyContin.

"As the drugs shift, then the medical implications attached to them
shift," Lenstra added.

- - with files from Bryan Weismiller
- ---
MAP posted-by: Matt