Killer drug linked to 100 Alberta deaths last year: RCMP

A steep rise in the number of fatal overdoses attributed to fentanyl is alarming police and health officials in Alberta.

According to RCMP, fentanylcontributed to or caused more than 100 deaths last year, a significant increase from six deaths in 2011.

One of those people was DannySchulz, 25.

"He didn't want to bring this upon himself," said his father Rick Schulz. "He didn't want to die at the time that he did, he just wanted one more hit."

Danny Schulz loved cooking, old cars andsongwriting buthe also struggled with drug use.

He was trying to get his life back on track, his father said, butin April 2014, he relapsed and died of an accidental overdose offentanyl.

"We knew our son had died of an accidental overdose, but when we heard about the fentanyl, it really felt like our son had been deliberately poisoned," said his mother Petra Schulz.

"We are very sure that hewas thinking he was taking OxyContin," his father said.

Fentanylis often sold asOxyContinon the streets even though it can be 20 times as potent.

Whilefentanylis not a new drug of abuse, what we are seeing is the tragic reality of street drugs, says Dr. MarkYarema, medical director of Albertas Poison and Drug Information Service, in a news release.

Fentanyl, a syntheticopioidpainkiller that comes in pills or powder, is often referred toasgreenieson the street.

Police said they have been seizing record amounts offentanylin communities across Alberta, including 10,000 tablets inGrandePrairie last fall and 60,000 tablets west of Calgary in November

RCMP blameorganized crime and "clandestinelaboratories" with the growth offentanylon the streets.

But what exactly ends up in the pills is anyone's guess.

Yaremasaid in some recentfentanylcases, drugs such as a veterinary medicine used on animals during castration procedures have been found in the victim's blood,Yaremasaid.

No matter what you think youre buying, when it comes to street drugs, you really dont ever know what youre getting, he said.