Fentanyl kills in Saskatoon
The pill that 19-year-old Kelly Best took at his home on January 3 contained Fentanyl, a more powerful and a deadly opiate. This drug also killed two others in Saskatoon a day apart in September.
In an interview with the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, Best’s mother, Marie Agioritis said “I’m angry. I am sad, I’m hurt and I’m shocked.”
She knows her son willingly took the pill but says he only took a small portion and that the person who sold it bears responsibility for selling a bad drug. She says she knows who that person is but there’s no word on an arrest. Agiortis’ other son, Kayle, has a long history of drug use but has survived. For Kelly it was an experiment, his mother said.
Street drugs: No quality control
On December 28 in Vancouver, three men took what they thought was OxyContin and they, too, were inadvertently taking Fentanyl. One of those men died, a 24-year-old, died, and the other two became ill but survived.
The Saskatoon police department issued a warning about the fake drug on its website along with a photo. “It is distinguishable from real Oxycontin due to the blue-green colour throughout the pill,” the police wrote of the fake drug containing Fentanyl. “Authentic Oxycontin is white inside with a blue-green coating.”
Real OxyContin is the brand name of the pain killer oxycodone prescribed for pain. It has hit the streets, however, and young people are taking it, often in high doses. It is highly-addictive.
After the death of the man from Fentanyl in Vancouver, Dr. John Carsley, a Medical Health Officer at Vancouver Coastal Health, noted that there is no quality control when it come to street drugs. It is buyer beware.
“No matter what the appearance of the drug being sold or what you are told it is, there is never any guarantee you are buying what you think you are buying,” Dr. Carsley said. “In fact, very often the drug you purchase is not what you think it is. It may be stronger, contaminated, or contain a completely different substance.”
Saskatoon police are investigating the death of Kelly Best.
