Public health officials are sounding the alarm over “counterfeit pills” widely distributed in the Montreal area.
Montreal’s DRSP said in a news release Friday that one death and several overdoses have been linked to a presumed ingestion of hydromorphone, an opioid pill known by the trade name Dilaudid.
The tablets currently available are white, triangular in shape with rounded corners, and are described as “looking like 8mg hydromorphone tablets (Dilaudid).”
Hydromorphone belongs to a group of drugs called narcotic analgesics and is used to “relieve pain severe enough to require opioid treatment,” according to the Mayo Clinic.
Montreal authorities analyzed some samples with “DD 8” printed on the tablets and found they contained protonitazepine, while tablets with “PP 8” were found to contain N-desethyl iso. It was found to contain tonitazene. Both ingredients are nitazene, or a synthetic opioid, which authorities claim is 25 times more potent than fentanyl.
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Health authorities have warned that counterfeit pills can easily be mistaken for pharmaceutical tablets as they often look identical.
“All pills purchased on the black market may contain substances (or mixtures) other than those expected,” the ministry said. “People who unknowingly take nitazene opioids are at increased risk of overdose.”
Public health officials say naloxone, which is used to reverse an overdose, should be given if you have difficulty breathing, are snoring or gurgling, or are not breathing at all. .
Naloxone should also be used if the person does not respond to sound or pain.
Bluish lips, nails, and pinpoint pupils are symptoms associated with possible cardiopulmonary arrest. Anyone who witnesses an overdose should call 911 immediately.
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