Vancouver Police are warning the public that the deadly drug W-18 has been discovered in Vancouver.
On April 8th, two men were arrested by police following an break-and-enter in Vancouver’s West End. Upon searching the men, one of them was found in possession of a quantity of drugs, including what was thought to be a counterfeit OxyContin pill. The drugs were submitted to Health Canada for analysis. On Friday, June 24th, police received the test results, and have now learned that one of the pills contained the deadly drug known as W-18, a synthetic pain killer 100 times more toxic than heroin.
“We continue to see an alarming increase in overdose deaths throughout the province,” says VPD spokesperson Sergeant Randy Fincham. “Many of those deaths have been the result of people knowingly, or unknowingly, taking synthetic painkillers such as fentanyl. With the recent appearance of W-18 in the Lower Mainland, the lives of more habitual or recreation drug users are at even greater risk.”
For more information about the dangers of synthetic opioids such as W-18 and fentanyl, visit KnowYourSource.ca.