Opioid crisis: 37 overdoses at Donnacona penitentiary over 3-month period

Correctional officers at theDonnacona Institution, a federal penitentiary30 kilometres west of Quebec City, are raising the alarm after witnessing a wave of fentanyl and carfentanyl overdoses.

Thirty-seven inmates overdosed between September and December 2018 according to the Unionof CanadianCorrectional Officers, which is asking formore resources to deal with the "unprecedented" situation.

That number is up from 10 cases recorded between July 2017 and March 2018.

Frdrick Lebeau, the president of the Quebec chapter of the union, said the the opioid crisis affectingCanada is also playing out within the walls of federal prisons.

Inmates often ingest thedrug, derived from morphine, in the minutes preceding scheduledsecurity rounds.

"The inmates knowthat if theyoverdosewhile officers are patrolling, someone will find them and will be able to resuscitatethem," said Lebeau.

While mostoverdoses are linked to fentanyl, there have also been cases of carfentanyl, estimated to be 100 times more potent.

Drone deliveries

The union is also concerned aboutthe dronesthat are being used to deliver the drugs by dropping them inside courtyards, andeven ontoinmates' windowsills.

Lebeau said there are not enough security measures to detect drones, which can also be used to smugglecontraband and dangerous objects.

"There is a real safety threat to our members," said Lebeau.

Correctional Service of Canadawill be launching a pilot-project to "evaluate various technologies designed to prevent and detect the entry of any material in institutions using drones." The implementation is expected to roll out in 2021.