Montreal public health warns of new 'Zombie drug' spreading in the city
Montreal's regional health authority (DRSP) is warning about a new and dangerous drug circulating in the city.
Xylazine, also known as "tranq" or "Zombie drug," is an animal tranquillizer used in veterinary medicine that is not meant for humans to consume.
However, it can be cut with opioids such as fentanyl, leading to breathing issues, irregular heartbeat, and overdose.
A preliminary report from the DRSP released on Thursday shows xylazine was detected in 5 per cent of 300 urine samples collected in Montreal last fall.
The health authority is now calling for healthcare professionals and community organizations to be vigilant and ramp up response efforts.
That's easier said than done, says Jean-Francois Mary, executive director of CACTUS Montreal. a community-based harm reduction organization.
"The fact that we don't have access to real-time data is a major barrier to putting in place appropriate actions," said Mary.
CACTUS Montreal offers drug testing services, but so far, there's been no trace of xylazine.
"It's actually a substance that we cannot usually detect in a routine screening," said Mary, adding xylazine must represent more than 5 per cent of a sample to be detected.
An overdose on either xylazine or fentanyl can look the same with one key difference: Naloxone, a fast-acting drug which can temporarily reverse an opioid overdose, does not work with xylazine.
"Sometimes we witness that Naloxone doesn’t bring back totally the person, so the person remains unconscious … and we need for the person to be taken care of by paramedics," said Mary.
While the drug is only now being detected in Montreal, Canadian authorities first found xylazine on the illicit drug market in 2012.
"We knew it was coming," said Mary, adding the substance has been prevalent in Puerto Rico for years.
"Then, at some point two years ago, it popped up in the fentanyl supply in Philadelphia, and then it spread to the wall of the East Coast, and then it spread to B.C., and then it spread to Toronto. So then we knew that next was Montreal," said Mary.
Mary says governments need to invest more in coroner services and drug screening to cut down on long testing delays so that those on the front lines of the drug epidemic can keep people safe.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Signs of Alzheimer’s were everywhere. Then his brain improved
Blood biomarkers of telltale signs of early Alzheimer’s disease in the brain of his patient, 55-year-old entrepreneur Simon Nicholls, had all but disappeared in a mere 14 months.
Box tree moths have infested Ontario and experts say more are coming. Here's what to do to protect your garden
An invasive moth species is on the rise in Canada and, if you've planted a certain shrub, it could stand to ruin your garden.
Usyk beats Fury by split decision, becomes undisputed heavyweight champion
Oleksandr Usyk defeated Tyson Fury by split decision to become the first undisputed heavyweight boxing champion in 24 years.
$500K-worth of elvers seized at Toronto airport
Fishery and border service officers seized more than 100 kilograms of unauthorized elvers at the Toronto Pearson International Airport on Wednesday.
VIA Rail service delayed for hours due to suspicious package investigation in Kingston, Ont.
VIA Rail service resumed in the Kingston, Ont. area late Saturday afternoon, after a suspicious package investigation halted train service for more than four hours over the Victoria Day long weekend.
His SUV was stolen on Montreal's South Shore. Then he got a $156 parking ticket
A couple is frustrated after their SUV was stolen from Montreal's South Shore in March and they received a parking ticket for the same vehicle last week.
Banking mogul suing government after intelligence leaks leave him shut out of Canadian economy
Chinese Canadian banking mogul Shenglin Xian has launched a $300 million lawsuit against the federal government. It’s a means to find the source of intelligence leaks which Xian says has cost him his livelihood.
Jesus is their saviour, Trump is their candidate. Ex-president's backers say he shares faith, values
As Donald Trump increasingly infuses his campaign with Christian trappings while coasting to a third Republican presidential nomination, his support is as strong as ever among evangelicals and other conservative Christians.
B.C. pipeline company argues its 'haulers' are not trucks, for tax purposes
A contractor working on the Coastal GasLink pipeline has been denied more than $333,000 worth of tax rebates because pieces of machinery it purchased – and claimed were not trucks – were deemed sufficiently truck-like in B.C. Supreme Court.