Earlier in December, a drug alert was issued in Thunder Bay due to the detection of cychlorphine, a synthetic opioid that is unauthorized to be sold on the market. The warning was issued by NorWest Community Health Centres (NWCHC), stating that cychlorphine was identified in a blue Percocet tablet. “These counterfeit pills mimic pharmacy-issued tablets in terms of colour, size and stamp numbers or markings on them,” said Brittany D’Angelo, director of mental health and substance use programs at NWCHC, in her interview with CBC News. “It was never approved for human consumption, so its true effects and strengths are unknown, but we presume it to resemble those of other potent opioids like fentanyl.”
The latest data released by Ontario’s Office of the Chief Coroner reveals that the Thunder Bay district continues to record the highest opioid-related mortality rate in the province. Currently, the rate of overdose deaths linked to illicit opioid use exceeds the provincial average by more than fourfold, with 39.75 deaths per 100,000 population compared with 8.35 per 100,000 population across Ontario.
The only supervised consumption site in Thunder Bay, operated by NorWest Community Health Centres, was closed earlier this year following the introduction of new provincial regulations. However, drug-checking services remain available through the organization’s mobile outreach van, which continues to provide harm-reduction and support services across the city. “We know most of our substances come from outside of town and that things that we see in the bigger cities make their way here,” D’Angelo added. “We’re seeing more and more synthetic opioids that are even stronger than fentanyl showing up in the supply, which increases risk of overdose.”
Since the holiday period can present increased challenges for some individuals, members of the public are encouraged to use the free LifeguardConnect app, which offers resources related to substance use and harm reduction. The app also allows users to set a safety timer when consuming drugs. If the timer is not deactivated, emergency medical services are automatically notified of the user’s location, indicating a potential overdose. “We know that there’s many people that use substances, they use them for different reasons, and our goal is just to make sure that people are using them in the safest way possible,” D’Angelo said.
