P.E.I. RCMP hopeful fentanyl crisis won't come to the Island

RCMP in P.E.I. are hopeful the fentanyl crisis other parts of the country are experiencing won't come to the Island.

"Here in P.E.I. our opiate problem has tailed off so we may not have the market for fentanyl to take root here," Cpl. Andy Cook told CBC News. "If we don't, then we're going to be very lucky because we'd be one of the few places to dodge that bullet."

The drug, a powerful synthetic opioid, is believed to be responsible for opioid deaths around the country. In the Maritimes, it was responsible for at least 32 drug-involved deaths between 2008 and 2016. In B.C., health officials have declared a public health emergency.

• Fentanyl involved in at least 32 Maritime drug deaths
• B.C. declares public health emergency after 200 overdose deaths in 2016

In P.E.I., the drug has been a factor in at least two deaths between 2008 and 2014, according to the province's chief coroner.

• Downtown Vancouver ER is ground zero of opioid overdose crisis

RCMP have not seized any illicit fentanyl in the province.

'Plan for the worst and hope for the best'

Still, Cook said RCMP will "plan for the worst and hope for the best."

• P.E.I. RCMP have new weapon in war on fentanyl

As part of a national initiative, officers required to carry naloxone, a drug used to slow the symptoms of an overdose to any opioid.

"For us here in P.E.I. it's more likely it could be potentially opiates like hydromorphone or potentially Oxycodone," said Cook.

Still, he emphasized drugs often contain other substances — which could include fentanyl.

"These days you don't assume anything," he said.

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