Another drug alert issued in Kamloops by Interior Health

Interior Health issued a drug alert in Kamloops today after a pink and reddish brown substance drug was found to pose a high risk for overdose with "prolonged sedation."

The substance was reportedly sold as "down" and was found to contain caffeine, mannitol, fentanyl and positive for benzodiazepine.

Interior Health warns Naloxone may not be effective and to give breaths while seeking medical attention.

Benzodiazepines, or 'benzos', are being increasingly found in combination with fentanyl.

"This is a worrying trend across the province," Kile McKenna, a drug technician at ASKWellness in Kamloops, says. "The effect is similar to fentanyl, but naloxone has no effect on benzos making an overdose much more difficult to reverse."

Kamloops currently has five active drug testing alerts, four of which were issued on Jan. 8.

McKenna says this is a much higher volume of alerts than in recent months.

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