There is significant risk for users however. The drug can also lead to extended blackouts and severe abscesses that may require amputation, according to the BC Centre for Disease Control.
Evan Bray, Chief of the Regina Police Service (RPS), told reporters on Tuesday that the drug has yet to be detected in the city.
“I don't believe, at this point it's been a significant issue in our community. But, not to say that it [won't] be,” he said.
“I'm quite confident that we'll hopefully get a bit of a heads up if we started seeing that make its way into our province.”
A total of 161 overdose incidents were reported in Regina in February of 2023.
A recent report from Health Canada revealed that xylazine was identified in 1,350 samples of drugs seized across the country in 2022.
The drug has been identified a total of 2,324 times since record-keeping began in 2015.
A main concern around xylazine is its resistance to Narcan, the opioid overdose treatment.
“It's a bit cliché to say but there is no quality control in the drug world,” Bray explained.
“That's part of the challenge that we see. We saw fentanyl, making a presence known in our community and within months, we had various different derivatives or analogs associated to fentanyl. Some were responsive to the Narcan, some were not. So, that's the problem when you've got synthetic drugs.”
Going forward, Bray said that ongoing partnerships with other law enforcement entities and the medical field will help track the progress of the drug’s spread.
“Those partnerships exist now. We have very strong partnerships with the College of Physicians with pharmacists and lots of different professions that use and are involved in the distribution or prescription of drugs. So that's one whole piece of work that we do as police agencies and I expect that that will continue,” he said.
“You really just have to understand it’s bad for you, potentially lethal for you and we have to do everything we can to limit its effects in the community.”
The Royal Bank of Canada is facing issues with online and mobile banking. According to a brief message posted on Twitter, there is an issue with the digital display of transactions.
More than 300 firefighters from the United States and South Africa are heading to Canada in the coming days as the country battles an unprecedented wildfire season that has forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes so far this year.
The federal government is proclaiming a National Day Against Gun Violence, to be held annually on the first Friday of June. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino and representatives of the Toronto Raptors basketball team are set to discuss the plans today at an event in Toronto.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's efforts to assure Canadians that his government is adequately addressing the threat of foreign interference took a hit on Wednesday, when the majority of MPs in the House of Commons voted for special rapporteur David Johnston to 'step aside,' a call Johnston quickly rejected.
Forget your hook, line and sinker. An Israeli foodtech company says it has 3D printed the first ever ready-to-cook fish filet using animal cells cultivated and grown in a laboratory.
Seventeen people – most of whom are young students – were hospitalized after a falling from a height during a field trip at Winnipeg's Fort Gibraltar. However, many of the children are now being discharged and sent home, according to an update from the hospital.
It's time for residents along the southeastern U.S. coastlines to make sure their storm plans are in place as the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season gets underway on Thursday.
More than 300 firefighters from the United States and South Africa are heading to Canada in the coming days as the country battles an unprecedented wildfire season that has forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes so far this year.
Seventeen people – most of whom are young students – were hospitalized after a falling from a height during a field trip at Winnipeg's Fort Gibraltar. However, many of the children are now being discharged and sent home, according to an update from the hospital.
A Medicine Hat, Alta., doctor has been reprimanded by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta for improperly handling a prescription for opioids for one of his patients.
More than 300 firefighters from the United States and South Africa are heading to Canada in the coming days as the country battles an unprecedented wildfire season that has forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes so far this year.
Alberta's re-elected premier says she plans to form a "council" of UCP candidates who lost in Monday's election to advise her on Edmonton issues, something her opponent made fun of Wednesday.
A team led by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) has found physiological evidence of brain inflammation in people with cognitive and depressive symptoms months after their COVID-19 infections.
The Royal Bank of Canada is facing issues with online and mobile banking. According to a brief message posted on Twitter, there is an issue with the digital display of transactions.
The city of Ottawa fired two employees with "medical related duties" for submitting falsified vaccination status documents last year following a tip to the city's fraud and waste hotline, according to a new report from the city's auditor general.
The Royal Bank of Canada is facing issues with online and mobile banking. According to a brief message posted on Twitter, there is an issue with the digital display of transactions.
In response to a barrage of questions about Surrey’s beleaguered hospital, B.C.’s minister of health told reporters that an Emergency Operations Centre was activated at the site on Wednesday afternoon.
The Royal Bank of Canada is facing issues with online and mobile banking. According to a brief message posted on Twitter, there is an issue with the digital display of transactions.
A forest fire is out of control in Chapais, in the Nord-du-Québec region, with evacuations underway. Meanwhile, the situation is improving in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, where two forest fires are now under control and a third is contained.
Quebec Education Minister Bernard Drainville is likely to have a bad day on Thursday as several groups are ready to criticize his Bill 23, predicts Quebec Solidaire (QS) MNA Ruba Ghazal.
The northern Vancouver Island village of Sayward remains on edge Wednesday as a wildfire continues to burn out of control just five kilometres west of the community.
The RCMP's B.C. Highway Patrol says an Alberta woman was ticketed and had her Ferrari impounded after speeding on the Malahat highway earlier this month.
A wildfire that began burning in the Upper Tantallon, N.S., area Sunday and forced the evacuation of thousands of residents is now 50 per cent contained.
More than 300 firefighters from the United States and South Africa are heading to Canada in the coming days as the country battles an unprecedented wildfire season that has forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes so far this year.
Doctor shortage is getting the blame for a hospital closure in Blind River on Friday. It's the fifth closure for the North Shore Health Network in roughly two weeks.
More than 300 firefighters from the United States and South Africa are heading to Canada in the coming days as the country battles an unprecedented wildfire season that has forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes so far this year.
'That '70s Show' star Danny Masterson was led out in handcuffs from a Los Angeles courtroom Wednesday and could get 30 years to life in prison after a jury found him guilty on two of three counts of rape at his second trial, in which the Church of Scientology played a central role.
Seven fire trucks, including an aerial truck, were on scene at a fire on Green Valley Drive in Kitchener on Wednesday afternoon after a fire impacted multiple townhomes.
An agency aimed at providing service dogs to those with disabilities and mental disorders is making a plea to the public to help foster 12 puppies for up to a year.
