Harmful counterfeit drugs are circulating in Vancouver, prompting an alert from Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH).
Hydromorphone or "Dilaudid" tablets are used for severe pain relief to treat opioid addiction.
VCH says fake tablets found to contain protonitazene and metonitazene have been seized in Vancouver.
The heath authority says nitazenes are synthetic opioids that can cause overdose. Nitazenes are not detected by fentanyl test strips but can be detected by a spectrometer.
According to the March 27 alert, the counterfeit drugs have 'D/D' and '8' imprinted on them to look legitimate. An image VCH supplied shows the fake drugs beside the real ones and how they’re identical.
Administering naloxone is effective for people who have taken the counterfeit tablets, but additional doses may be needed, says the health authority.
There are numerous locations in Vancouver to have drugs checked. Visit VCH's website for the list of locations.
