Purple heroin hits Brandon streets

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This article was published 25/07/2019 (2279 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Police are concerned after a relatively new street drug popped up in Brandon, already sending at least two people to hospital after suspected overdoses.

Purple heroin or purple H, named for its distinctive colour, is a potentially fatal concoction of opioids known to include anything from oxycontin, fentanyl, carfentanil and sometimes morphine or other opiates.

The drug first showed up in Manitoba about a year ago, said Addictions Foundation of Manitoba medical director Dr. Ginette Poulin, but it has been coming up a lot more regularly in the last four months.

“The danger with purple H is that now you’re combining multiple opioids together, which increases your risk of overdose and potentially fatality,” Poulin said. “I am hearing patients tell me that it’s what’s available on the street and that’s what’s being used. I have heard of overdoses where they have used naloxone, but I have not heard of specific fatalities … There’s a lot of concern for overdose.”

Purple heroin showed up for the first time in Brandon on Monday, Brandon police spokeswoman Sgt. Kirby Sararas said, after two people allegedly overdosed on the drug.

They are alive but still being treated in hospital, Sararas added, one of whom remains in the intensive care unit.

“We’ve been aware of purple heroin in other jurisdictions, and we’ve been monitoring it, but this is the first time (in Brandon) that we have confirmed someone has intentionally purchased it,” Sararas said, adding the investigation is ongoing. “We do want to put a stop to it coming into Brandon, first and foremost.”

Not knowing what is in any particular batch of purple heroin is a major risk, Poulin said, especially when each opioid commonly used in the mixture can be lethal on its own.

Sararas also raised concerns for people who illegally purchase other drugs, such as cannabis, off the street.

“We don’t know how they’re packaging these drugs, and I would assume they are not cleaning the area they are using to package these types of drugs, so there’s a huge possibility that there’s going to be cross-contamination,” Sararas said. “There is a real risk in purchasing any drugs. Right now, we are not seeing anything like this, but we just don’t know where these drugs are going to crop up. You don’t know how they’re packaged, you don’t know how they’re handled.”

People should be familiar with what an overdose looks like, Poulin said, so they can call 911 immediately or administer naloxone when available.

People experiencing an overdose will appear groggy or tired and have slowed breathing, Poulin said, and their skin might turn a bluish colour.

Users should also be aware of the risks, she added, and make sure to have naloxone on hand.

“We’re getting products that are a lot more toxic compared to what they were 10 to 15 years ago,” Poulin said. “That applies to both opioids and methamphetamine. They’re much stronger in toxicity and can have very significant effects.”

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