Provincial police are reporting that street drugs in Ontario are becoming increasingly dangerous.
According to a statement from OPP, dealers are becoming more desperate to stretch out their product since the closure of the Canada-U.S. border. Meaning the price of the current supply is going up, and the quality is going down.
Police say more cutting agents are being added to drugs including powerful opioids like fentanyl used to ensure people still get high.
The issue, even a small amount of fentanyl can be fatal.
Windsor police Sgt. Steve Betteridge says the altered products haven't been confirmed locally, but everything travels quickly down Hwy. 401.
"That drug dealer does not care about you," he says. "They will hide that illicit drug any way they have to."
Betteridge says parents should take a moment to remind kids that all street drugs are dangerous.
"The strong message to our youngsters is to not get involved with this and for our community to get information to us so we can enforce the law to keep everyone safe," he says.
At his daily briefing, Windsor-Essex’s Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Wajid Ahmed says they’re asking the public not to lose sight of the opioid crising during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ahmed says opioid use and overdoses continues to be a growing public health concern with emergency department visits still on the rise.