‘It’s unprecedented’: Experts believe tainted fentanyl could be cause of spike in N.B. overdoses

First responders are warning people about a tainted batch of street drugs in Moncton.

It’s not quite clear how many drug overdoses took place in Moncton, N.B., this weekend, but the executive director of the province’s only overdose prevention site is alarmed.

Scott Phipps with Ensemble Greater Moncton said his team heard everything from five to more than 28 overdoses on Saturday.

“There was a death confirmed,” said Phipps, who couldn’t confirm the age or sex of the victim.

It’s also not known where they all took place.

“We’ve heard mixed reports,” said Phipps. “Some saying they were all within Moncton, others saying that was throughout the entire province.”

Phipps thinks there may have been around a dozen in Moncton, but the thought of 28 or more provincewide is startling.

“It’s unprecedented, yeah. On a really bad day here (Ensemble), we would receive four to five in a day. So, this is definitely unusual. Very, very high,” said Phipps.

Moncton Fire Department Deputy Chief of Operations Keith Guptill said firefighters responded to 13 overdose calls between 7 a.m. Saturday and 7 a.m. Sunday.

The usually respond to 10 calls on average during a 24-hour shift.

“Thirteen is a lot,” said Guptill.

Both Guptill and Phipps said the cause could possibly be a tainted supply of fentanyl – an opioid commonly used by members of the homeless population.

Phipps said they tested some recent batches using equipment at Ensemble, but results were inconclusive, so they were sent to a third-party lab.

“The speculation, key word speculation, is that we believe it could be ketamine,” said Phipps.

Ensemble client Ryan Clements has seen more overdoses than usual in the past week.

“I’ve seen a lot of ambulances going, a lot of firetrucks going,” said Clements. “We did have one death over the weekend. It’s sad.”

Clements said there’s a “strong batch” of drugs in Moncton right now and he’s hearing certain tranquilizers are being mixed into the fentanyl supply.

“This is where we tell people that you should never use alone. Every time I use, I’m never alone,” said Clements. “No one should ever leave someone alone.”

Guptill is also hearing about a bad batch currently in the city.

“Our crews get talking to folks that are on the street and they’re hearing that there’s some bad drugs that are happening around the city right now,” said Guptill.

Guptill said no matter how many calls they get, fire crews will always do everything they can to revive someone.

“Our folks care about everything they do,” said Guptill. “We are always going to go. We are never going to hesitate. But there’s a bigger issue here than us just responding to these calls. There’s a greater issue.”

Clements said he’s lost friends to overdoses in Moncton and on Prince Edward Island and is concerned about what’s going on.

Firefighters and staff at Ensemble often use Naloxone – a medication that can reverse the effects of opioids, when trying to revive someone.

The problem is, Naloxone doesn’t always work when treating someone who has ingested a drug mixed with a non-opioid, such as benzodiazepines.

“That will work for fentanyl, but it won’t work for benzos,” said Phillips. “So, if the two are mixed it can have a delayed reaction in respect to treatment.”

Ensemble’s mandate is to reduce harm using a nonjudgmental approach that acknowledges drug use exists.

Phipps said the staff of 25 people work closely with around 2,000 clients and care deeply for them.

“When I came in this morning, they were all quite impacted by this,” said Phipps. “It is heavy news. It’s very emotional.”

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