Another harmful substance is spreading within Canada's unregulated street drug supply and, without more aggressive intervention from policymakers, one expert says a growing number of people could be at risk of serious illness, injury or death.
is a potent veterinary tranquillizer used in large animals, such as horses, but not approved for use in humans. Known on the street as "tranq dope" or "zombie drug," it is increasingly being used as an additive in opioids due to its ability to prolong their effects. However, it can also cause and severe abscesses that sometimes lead to amputation.
Hayley Thompson, project manager at Toronto Drug Checking Service, says most people sickened by xylazine are unknowingly exposed via contaminated fentanyl, meaning victims often experience the effects of both drugs at once.
"When people are using it alongside fentanyl, it would create further sedative effects, further central nervous system depressant and vital suppression (effects)," Thompson told CTV's Your Morning on Monday, explaining how the added sedative effect increases risk of dangerous respiratory and cardiac slowing.
Xylazine also acts as a vasoconstrictor – meaning it causes a narrowing of the blood vessels – and can put users at risk of developing severe abscesses. In the U.S., where contamination rates are as high as 90 per cent in some cities, Thompson said this side-effect of the drug has led to limb amputations.
Adding to the danger, xylazine does not respond to naloxone, a fast-acting drug used to temporarily reverse the effects of opioid overdoses.
And xylazine appearance in unregulated drugs is on the rise in Canada.
According to a xylazine was identified in 1,350 samples of drugs seized across Canada in 2022, out of 2,324 identifications total since record-keeping began in 2015. The largest numbers have come out of Ontario and British Columbia.
Thompson said this trend highlights how important it is to educate the public about how easily the unregulated fentanyl supply can be contaminated with substances users don't expect to encounter.
"Xylazine is just one of over a dozen drugs that we consider noteworthy that we regularly see in the unregulated fentanyl supply," she said.
According to the latest federal government data, there were a total of 3,556 suspected in the first half of 2022. This equals around 20 deaths a day. From January to June of 2022, 90 per cent of all accidental apparent opioid toxicity deaths in Canada occurred in B.C., Alberta, or Ontario.
To better protect people who use street drugs, Thompson said harm reduction advocates want to see government explore "bolder policy measures" such as increasing investment in supervised consumption services that would allow people to more easily access a safe supply of opioids.
"We'd like to see more people being able to make informed decisions about their drug use, and also safer supply being more available to people," she said.
"Without safer supply and drug checking, people really don't know what it is they're using, and therefore can't appropriately dose themselves. That's why we're seeing all of these accidental drug poisoning deaths."
A $2.14-billion federal loan for an Ottawa-based satellite operator has Canadian politicians arguing about whether American billionaire Elon Musk poses a national security risk.
The maker of the popular party game Cards Against Humanity is accusing Elon Musk's SpaceX of trespassing on and damaging a plot of vacant land the company owns in Texas.
Specialist divers surveying the wreckage of the US$40 million superyacht that sank off Sicily in August, killing seven people including British tech tycoon Mike Lynch, have asked for heightened security to guard the vessel, over concerns that sensitive data locked in its safes may interest foreign governments, multiple sources told CNN.
Twenty-seven year Â鶹ӰÊÓ reporter and anchor John Vennavally-Rao shares his story of what it was like to have an ostomy bag as part of his health-care battle. 'I’m grateful for what it did to extend my life,' he writes in a personal column for CTVNews.ca.
The British Columbia election campaign is set to officially start today, with Lt.-Gov. Janet Austin issuing the writ for the Oct. 19 vote.
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The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah announced that it fired a barrage of missiles at a military base deep inside Israel early Sunday following an Israeli airstrike more than a day earlier that killed at least 37 people, including one of the militant group’s senior leaders as well as women and children.
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Donald Trump returned to North Carolina on Saturday, stumping in the southern battleground state with direct appeals to women, claiming he would be a better champion for them than U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, who is vying to become the first female president.
Sheba, a 50-year-old seal at the Cornish Seal Sanctuary in southwest England, has far surpassed the average lifespan for seals and could be the oldest in captivity in the world.
The more Chelsea Walsh talked to the eccentric fellow American who seemed to pop up in every square and cobblestone street of Ukraine's capital, the more she got creeped out.
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The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah announced that it fired a barrage of missiles at a military base deep inside Israel early Sunday following an Israeli airstrike more than a day earlier that killed at least 37 people, including one of the militant group’s senior leaders as well as women and children.
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Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly says close to 45,000 Canadians are in Lebanon, months after warning there is no guarantee Ottawa can evacuate them if the situation deteriorates further.
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The owner of the shuttered Three Mile Island nuclear power plant said Friday that it plans to restart the reactor under a 20-year agreement that calls for tech giant Microsoft to buy the power to supply its data centers with carbon-free energy.
Lebanese authorities on Thursday banned walkie-talkies and pagers from being taken on flights from Beirut airport, the National News Agency reported, after thousands of such devices exploded during a deadly attack on Hezbollah this week.
Kathryn Crosby, who appeared in such movies as 'The 7th Voyage of Sinbad', 'Anatomy of a Murder,' and 'Operation Mad Ball' before marrying famed singer and Oscar-winning actor Bing Crosby, has died. She was 90.fff
'Saturday Night Live' will have a slew of famous faces to help kick off its historic 50th season when the show returns later this month.
The death of the Tragically Hip’s lead singer Gord Downie united fans across Canada in their grief, but in many ways pulled his bandmates apart.
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The maker of the popular party game Cards Against Humanity is accusing Elon Musk's SpaceX of trespassing on and damaging a plot of vacant land the company owns in Texas.
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Jonathan Aranda homered for the second consecutive game, helping Taj Bradley and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-2 on Saturday.
Kiefer Sherwood spent several nights last spring chasing Quinn Hughes around the ice and generally pestering the Vancouver Canucks.
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Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has accused Tesla CEO Elon Musk of 'remotely disabling' his Cybertruck, which had been sent to the frontline of Russia's war in Ukraine.
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Milla White from Cochrane literally drew her way into a meeting with former boxer and actor Mickey Rourke.
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The Barrie Skateboard Association (BSA) hosted a unique competition at the City's Skate Park on Saturday to celebrate its 25th anniversary, which showcased the park's importance and the growth of skateboarding in the region.
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The St. Clair College golf teams were successful at the Niagara Knights Invitational tournament on Friday.
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Despite the heavy rain, plenty of muscle turned up for United Way’s annual Pull the Bus fundraiser in Lethbridge Friday.
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The Lethbridge Hurricanes kicked off the 2024-25 season on a winning note Friday night, defeating the Edmonton Oil Kings 3-1 in a game played at VisitLethbridge.com Arena.
A northern Ontario man is facing a $12,000 fine after illegally shooting a moose near the Batchawan River.
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A 26-year-old driver from Surrey, B.C., has been charged with three counts of criminal negligence causing death and bodily harm in a crash that killed two youths in northern Ontario last year.
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Jim Lester’s farm hopped on the cow-cuddling trend in early August, and his time slots have been pretty well sold out ever since.
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