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Peer Reviewed
Objective
Despite the increase in fentanyl-involved overdose deaths in Canada, there have been no national-level studies evaluating the proportion of illegal opioids containing fentanyl or fentanyl analogues in Canada.
Findings/Key points
Of the opioid-containing samples, 51.5% contained fentanyl or a fentanyl analogue. The percentage of opioid-containing samples that were positive for fentanyl or a fentanyl analogue increased from 3.0% in 2012 to 68.3% in 2022. In 2022, the percentage of samples containing fentanyl or an analogue followed an east-to-west gradient: 15.8% of samples in Atlantic Canada and 84.7% in British Columbia. Carfentanil was present in 4.9% of opioid-containing samples in Canada in 2022 and 19.7% of opioid-containing samples in Alberta.
These finding demonstrate that the illegal opioid supply in Canada increasingly contains toxic synthetic opioids. As of 2022, important regional differences existed in the illicit opioid supply in Canada.
Design/methods
This cross-sectional exploratory study characterized trends in fentanyl, carfentanil and other fentanyl analogues within opioids seized by law enforcement agencies in Canada from 2012 to 2022 (N=157,616 samples) and submitted to the Health Canada Drug Analysis Service (DAS).
