‘They’re back:’ Drug dealers target southern Alberta reserve when payments arrive
STANDOFF, Alta. — A life-and-death battle against drug dealers is being waged on the sprawling Blood reserve in southwestern Alberta, as officials struggle to keep deadly opioids away from its most vulnerable residents.
Canada’s largest reserve has been on the front lines of a fentanyl epidemic that has plagued many parts of the country over the last four years.
Fentanyl, an opioid up to 100 times more powerful than heroin, is used as a painkiller for terminal cancer patients. But on the streets, the drug — also known as “beans” — emerged as an OxyContin replacement after that drug’s formula was changed.
Sixteen overdose deaths in the first three months of 2015 prompted the Blood band, which has about 10,000 members, to declare a state of emergency.