Vancouver police and B.C. health agencies are launching a campaign to warn drug users about the presence of the potentially fatal narcotic fentanyl in heroin and other street drugs.
Const. Sandra Glendinning says the campaign has been prompted by an increase in the number of deaths caused by fentanyl throughout the Vancouver area and on southern Vancouver Island.
Fentanyl is a synthetic narcotic between 50 and 100 times more powerful than heroin and is administered mainly in patch form to control pain.
Police say street dealers mix fentanyl with heroin and other drugs and neither casual users nor addicts know it's present.
