NEWS RELEASE
CHARLIE ANGUS, TIMMINS-JAMES BAY MP
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Timmins-James Bay MP Charlie Angus says the federal government needs to take steps to track the movement of fentanyl patches.
Illegal trade in this opiod medicine has resulted in many deaths and overdoses.
Angus has written to Minister Rona Ambrose asking Health Canada to require a bar code or serial number be put on each individual patch so that their circulation can be tracked.
"There are many issues that cross party lines, where the Canadian public expects us to work together and I truly believe that this is one of them. The government needs to play its part in stemming the trade in stolen and bootlegged fentanyl.”
Angus has launched a fentanyl task force in Timmins.
The group, which includes health care, addiction experts and police, will be meeting this Friday morning in Timmins. Angus says the public needs to be made aware of the dangers of fentanyl.
"The fentanyl patch is a key pain killer for people suffering from serious illnesses. However, people who see it as a party drug have no idea what they are messing with."
The US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) recently issued a nationwide alert about the dangers of fentanyl.
The RCMP recently announced that there have been more than 100 deaths linked to fentanyl abuse in Alberta alone.
The BC Coroners’ service has said fentanyl was detected in about a quarter of 330 overdose deaths last year.
Sudbury Police say fentanyl patches are now the most seized drug in their investigations.
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