As part of a drug bust operation carried out earlier in May, P.E.I. RCMP seized tablets identified as N-desethyl isotonitazene, a potent and dangerous synthetic opioid. “N-desethyl Isotonitazene is a synthetic opioid considered more than 20 times more toxic than fentanyl. Fentanyl itself is already 20 to 40 times more toxic than heroin and 100 times more toxic than morphine. This makes the risk of accidental overdose very high,” reads an email statement to CBC News from the Chief Public Health Officer (CPHO).

In addition, the CPHO noted that the drug is similar to nitazenes, which have appeared across Canada in recent years, and encouraged individuals who use drugs to get them tested even if they think they know what the pills are.

There were 50 N-desethyl Isotonitazene seized tablets in total, which were white and triangular with rounded corners, and had the symbols P|d stamped on one side and Ɛ3 on the other. “Although N-desethyl Isotonitazene was reported in Nova Scotia earlier this year, this is the first reported instance of the drug in Prince Edward Island,” states a news release by RCMP.

In her interview with CBC News, Angele DesRoches, program director of PEERS Alliance, a Charlottetown-based organization focused on harm reduction, said her main concern with the drug is that it looks like a prescription pill.

“These things can look very similar to the pharmaceutical product that manufacturers may be trying to mirror,” she said. In addition, DesRoches noted that most of those who regularly consume street-sourced drugs are aware this type of pill is fake, but she worries about individuals who are less familiar with drugs in general — “young folks, for example, who may not be as aware of the risks.”

DesRoches added that authorities in different countries have been cracking down on fentanyl and fentanyl analogs, which prompted the emergence of new classes of illicit substances. “And often it’s not one compound that’s appearing in a sample; it’s multiple substances that are appearing in a sample,” she said. “It’s a scary time for folks who are reliant on illicit substances… because things are changing so rapidly.”