There is a real concern fentanyl production could soon move out of Alberta and into our province.
The concern comes from a decision by Alberta to restrict who can own pill presses, the mechanism used to produce fentanyl tablets.
They will become the first province to do so.
Deputy Chief Mike Serr, co-chair of the drug abuse committee for the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, told CTV Vancouver that could bring more pill production west.
“We have some concerns that this is going to potentially move out the production of pills to B.C., as well as Saskatchewan and Manitoba,” said Serr.
“We’re aware of that, and we would like to see [pill presses] regulated at the federal level, so it’s the same across Canada… We think we need to move on this sooner rather than later.”
B.C. Premier Christy Clark has called on the federal government to ban the presses. Critics say the provinces should move on their own, without waiting for the feds.
Pill presses are tightly regulated in the United States.
The latest figures from the BC Coroners Service indicates there were 622 fatal overdoses from illicit drugs between January and October compared with 397 during the same period last year.
Fentanyl was detected in 60 per cent of those.
In West Kelowna, a large drug lab was busted on Auburn Road back in March.
At the time, police said they believed the building was used as a production lab where fake prescription drugs were made with fentanyl and then shipped out.
--with files from CTV Vancouver