Fake OxyContin being sold in Edmonton area, say RCMP

A potentially lethal prescription pain killer is being sold on the streets in the Edmonton area.

St. Albert RCMP said the pills are being sold as Oxycontin but in fact contain a drug called fentanyl, a powerful painkiller experts say is is cheaper and more potent than morphine.

The community should be concerned, said Insp. Kevin Murray in a news release. RCMP drug investigators tell me that fentanyl is 80 times more toxic than morphine.

Police said the drugs are circulating in Edmonton and surrounding communities. The round, convex blue-green pills have the No. 80 stamped on them.

This isnt the first time police have warned about the fake prescription drug.

Counterfeit OxyContin has been linked to two overdose deaths earlier this month of Saskatoon men in their early 20s.

During that investigation, police found pills that resembled the synthetic drug OxyContin 80. Since the drugs are not readily available, police said they believe the pills were counterfeit.

In April, Calgary police found close to 10,000 pills in a vehicle in Chestermere and warned people they could overdose on the drug.