A highly-potent and possibly fatal purple-coloured powder has police and health officials alike spreading a warning about the dangers associated with it.
“We’re hearing that it is a fentanyl analog,” said Mia Brown, Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit. “It could be fatal.”
Barrie Police issued a news release on Thursday that reads in part, “The substance is believed to have a purple-colouring and is suspected to have been consumed in a recent sudden death and overdose.”
The health unit has known about this drug and is trying to spread awareness online.
“We did have an alert on our website for the last few months, alerting people that there was a purple substance similar to heroin that was in the community,” said Brown.
Police in Guelph recently issued an alert to residents about the drug. They reported five overdoses in the past week alone.
Last year, there were 81 overdoses in Simcoe County and Muskoka, up from 46 the previous year. Opioid overdose visits to the emergency rooms in our region are double the provincial numbers.
The health unit encourages those who use illegal drugs never to do it alone and always to have a naloxone kit nearby.
