Recovering fentanyl addict on his 'freak out' at Walmart

A Calgary man who used to behooked on fentanyl isspeaking out aboutthe dangers of the potent street drug.

"It would be kind of selfish of me to hide, and worry about myself when there's people suffering out there that could maybe benefit from hearing the truths,"Ben Borger told the Calgary Eyeopener on Monday.

The synthetic painkiller,whichisoften passed off by drug dealers as OxyContin,was linked to six deaths in Alberta in 2011.Last year, thatnumber spiked to 120.

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Borgersays the pills areeasy to get addicted to.

"It's almost like serenity.You're completely calm and it's like a warm blanket comes over your body."

Greenies, green beans and shady 80s those are just a few of the nicknamesfentanyl, which is often passed off by dealers as OxyContin.

I was like ripping my shirt off and yelling at pants. Just acting completely irrational.-BenBorger, recoveringfentanyladdict

He dropped out of university, lost several jobs and became completely removed from his family. Borger says the "dirty" drug took over his life.

Then heoverdosed at a Walmart.

"I had a complete freak out," he said.

Borger says the dramaticevent promptedat least six different people to callpolice.

"I was like ripping my shirt off and yelling at pants. Justacting completely irrational and laying down in the middle of Walmart."

After spending a night in the hospital, Borgerwent right back to using.

"Once you go that far down the rabbit hole, you're physically dependant on the drugs."

His mother eventually helped get himinto a treatment centre on Vancouver Island.

Inthe first two months of 2015, the province set a disturbing record 50 fatalfentanyloverdoses.

"I was on my way to being one of those numbers. I'm grateful I got help when I did."