Until recently, heroin was considered one of the strongest drugs of abuse that an addict could find on the street. However, illegal drug chemists are always pushing the envelope and an extremely potent new substance was recently confirmed on the street by Montreal police – one known as desmethyl fentanyl. This drug is believed to be roughly 40 times stronger than heroin and as much as 80 times stronger than morphine. More than 12,000 pills were confiscated when two dealers under police surveillance attempted to mail them at a UPS store inside of a toaster and a microwave.
This incident sparked off a series of seven raids where more than 300,000 pills were discovered including:
- Ecstasy
- Speed
- Desmethyl fentanyl
- Oxycodone
Canadian officials worry that if they found this amount of these substances, more is already out in the community. They fear the number of fatalities that may result from the use of this new drug.
Deadly New Drug Targeted Marketed to Kids by Dealers
To add fuel to the fire, not only is this new drug of abuse incredibly potent, but it is also being directly aimed towards young people. The pills have logos stamped on them for companies that appeal to teens and young adults. The logos on the confiscated pills were from businesses popular with younger crowds such as Facebook and Tim Horton’s (a Canadian donut chain). And in some cases, detectives found that paint was used to color the pills.
Any drug is potentially deadly, but it seems desmethyl fentanyl may have reached a whole new level of lethal. The pills are made in very unclean conditions and any number of chemicals may be used to create them. During the raid, officers wearing masks and gloves still developed palpitations and rashes from the drugs, so one can only imagine what they may do once ingested.
Synthetic Drugs May Be Made at a Rapid Rate and Sold to the Public
The operation dismantled by the Canadian officers had been making one pill per second. When no one cares about quality, cleanliness or safety, an astronomical amount of a product can be made very quickly. The police also seized 1,500 kilos of chemicals, many from China, that were capable of producing more than 3 million pills.
Even more frightening, these pills were not just being sold on the street for those looking to get high but were being used to make counterfeit pills of both Viagra and Cialis. The police have no idea if they were able to seize all of the pills before they were released on the streets but will be monitoring hospitals in the coming weeks to see if there are any reports of health issues related to the synthetic drugs.
If drug abuse of any kind is a problem for someone you love, don’t wait to get them into treatment. Contact us at Axis today to learn more.
