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Liquid Fentanyl Has Been Discovered in Canada For the First Time

Hamilton Police found the translucent substance in a raid earlier this year.

Hamilton police found liquid fentanyl in the city in May. Police handout photo

Hamilton police have discovered what they believe is a first in Canada: liquid fentanyl.

During a raid that took place in May, the force seized what it believed to be GHB, but this week Health Canada tests revealed the translucent substance is actually fentanyl, according to a police news release.

"In consultation with various Health Canada labs, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, it is believed that this is the only identified seizure of Fentanyl in a liquid state within Canada," Const. Steve Welton said in a recorded statement.

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Fentanyl overdoses were responsible for 555 deaths in BC and more than 150 in Alberta so far in 2016. They were the leading cause of opioid-related deaths in Ontario last year, with more than 190 fatal overdoses.

The opioid, which is exponentially stronger than morphine, is currently being sold on the black market in powder, pill, and patch form. It's also increasingly being cut into drugs like heroin, cocaine, and MDMA, often without the user's knowledge.

Read more: We Asked Experts How to Solve Canada's Opioid Crisis

Speaking to City News, Detective Const. Adam Brown said the substance, "wasn't mixed with anything, no heroin, strictly the fentanyl solution in liquid, which was troubling."

Brown called the discovery "scary" but said its potency isn't yet known.

Regardless, he said fentanyl is "extremely toxic to the human body." Cops reportedly had to handle the drugs wearing protective suits.

Michelle Arnot, a pharmacology professor at the University of Toronto, told VICE the main concern with liquid fentanyl would be dosage.

"Fentanyl is very potent therefore small increases in dose can have significant adverse effects i.e. overdose," she said, noting that a person using liquid fentanyl would have to be extremely certain about the concentration in their particular batch.

As it stands, Arnot said most fentanyl on the street is injected, but the extraction process (i.e. from a patch) can remove some of the potency. This wouldn't be the case with a liquid.

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"Small errors in the injection of liquid fentanyl may result in significant 'leaps' in response."

Brown said an additional concern is that liquid fentanyl doesn't have any visible red flags.

"People see translucent liquid, and it could be anything: water or liquid fentanyl."

Sam Gutman, a BC-based emergency doctor and founder of Rockdoc Consulting which provides harm reduction services at music festivals, said he could see liquid fentanyl potentially being used to spike drinks or being confused with GHB.

But other than that, he doesn't think the discovery is that big a deal. He pointed out that inconsistent potency is an issue regardless of which form of fentanyl is being consumed.

"To me it's just another form of the same drug that just makes it a little more troubling and easier to do bad things with," he said.

Follow Manisha Krishnan on Twitter.