Front line workers and first responders have suspected it for months but now it's been confirmed: carfentanil, the deadly opioid 100 times more toxic than fentanyl, has entered the street drug scene in Metro Vancouver. Carfentanil was found to be present in 57 of 1,766 urine tests conducted over a two week period last month at drug treatment facilities in Vancouver, Surrey, New Westminster, Maple Ridge and Richmond. LifeLabs developed the urine carfentanil test and has been using it since Jan. 10. "It may under-represent the actual extent to which carfentanil is present," he said. A total of 914 people died of illicit drug overdose last year in B.C.

Source: CBC News February 01, 2017 23:33 UTC