Regina Pats trade scoring leader and captain Tanner Howe
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Tanner Howe was was the third youngest captain in the Regina Pats' history.
Regina police are raising the alarm after a drug test found an animal tranquilizer had been mixed with fentanyl.
On Wednesday, police said a substance had been discovered at the Newo Yotina Friendship Centre’s drug testing site in Regina. The test on a drug that was believed to have been sold as fentanyl discovered fentanyl and xylazine had been mixed together.
According to police, that combination “presents a heightened risk of overdose and death.”
“Xylazine is a tranquilizer used in veterinary medicine, and lowers heart rate (and) blood pressure, and affects breathing,” the police service said in a release. “It causes sedation, muscle relaxation, and unconsciousness. Its effects cannot be reversed by administering naloxone.”
The release said the tested substance, which was described as being purple, could be part of a larger batch that investigators believe is making the rounds in Regina.
In August, the police service’s mid-year crime statistics showed a high number of deaths due to apparent drug overdoses. Mayor Sandra Masters previously had said attempts to battle the addictions issue in the city weren’t working.
The alert issued by police on Wednesday wasn’t the first of its kind in recent months.
In June, for example, Moose Jaw police put out an alert after three people in that city died of overdoses in the span of 48 hours. That warning followed one issued in May by the RCMP after a series of fatal overdoses in the Punnichy and Southey areas.
In August, the Regina Police Service said its officers had seized nearly twice as much fentanyl in the first seven months of 2023 as they did in all of 2022.
To help limit overdoses and deaths due to drug use, police reminded people to learn the signs of a possible overdose.
Those include: Difficulty walking, talking and staying awake; blue lips or nails; very small pupils; cold and clammy skin; dizziness and confusion; extreme drowsiness; choking, gurgling or snoring sounds; slow, weak or no breathing; and an inability to wake up, even when shaken or shouted at.
Members of the public also were urged to carry and know how to properly use naloxone, to create a safety plan to reduce harm like not using drugs alone or seeking out harm reduction services in the community, and to know the Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act.
The act protects those who are experiencing an overdose or who are present during an overdose from charges for possession of a controlled substance when they call 911 seeking assistance.