W-18, a powerful Opioid 100 times stronger than Fentanyl

Global News reports;

Police in Alberta are warning residents about W-18, a powerful opioid 100 times stronger than fentanyl, discovered during a drug bust last summer.

Calgary police said 110 fentanyl pills were seized from a home in Rocky View County in southern Alberta in August.

In December, tests from Health Canada confirmed three pills contained W-18.

“It’s an ongoing concern based on the fact W-18 is 100 times more toxic than fentanyl,” Martin Schiavetta, a staff sergeant with the Calgary Police Service Drug Unit, told Global News. “And we already know the deadly consequences fentanyl has.”

Where does W-18 come from?

The drug comes from a “W-series” of opioid compounds first discovered at the University of Alberta in 1982, according to the B.C. Centre for Disease Control. There are 32 compounds, W-1 to W-32, with W-18 being the most toxic.

Sources:

• http://globalnews.ca/news/2495761/what-we-know-about-w-18-a-drug-100-times-more-powerful-than-fentanyl/
• http://globalnews.ca/news/2512745/why-w-18-a-drug-100-times-stronger-than-fentanyl-will-be-hard-to-track/
• http://www.fox32chicago.com/news/local/122094683-story