Help fentanyl labs make a safer drug
KAMLOOPS — Illegal fentanyl lab operators don’t intend to kill users. They would prefer to have return customers. The problem, I suspect, is that the fentanyl used is so concentrated that it’s hard to dissolve to a uniform consistency. The resulting doses are uneven –from low to deadly. It’s a good idea to provide testing facilities for fentanyl cooks to let them know the potency of their product. Dr. Tyndall of the BC Centre for Disease Control says:
“I’m still firmly of the belief that nobody’s actually trying to kill people. These manufacturers don’t know what they’re doing and they’re putting out ridiculous concentrations of these drugs.”
The BCCDC recommends an expansion of drug-checking services where anyone, including producers of illegal fentanyal, can have their drugs tested for toxicity. B.C.’s Minister of Health, Judy Darcy, endorses the expansion.
As it stands, drug policy is perverse because we tell users not to use street drugs but provide no other option when legal supplies fail.