Photo: Towards the Heart

Drug alert issued in Vernon

Interior Health has issued a drug alert for Vernon, warning a drug with the street name down has tested positive for fentanyl.

The health authority says down is sold as red powder, pebbles, and chunks and has tested positive for carfentanil, fluorofentanyl, benzodiazepines and fentanyl.

Down is known as a drug that contains an unknown opioid, but carfentanil is 50- to 100-times more potent that fentanyl making it the equivalent of up to 150 per cent concentration of fentanyl.

Down causes extreme risk of overdose, amnesia, sleepiness, and nodding out for long periods, and overdoses may not respond to naloxone.

IH says people using the drug should get it checked before using.