For police officers and other emergency first responders, dealing with illicit pharmaceutical drugs has made their jobs infinitely more dangerous.

Sgt. Eric Boechler, with the RCMP federal serious organized crime section in Vancouver, says the lethal potency of fentanyl and carfentanil at minuscule amounts of exposure is a hazard-level game-changer in their professions.

香蕉视频直播淎s first responders, we have a job to do and we want to help people, but we also want to go home to our families at night,香蕉视频直播� Boeschler said at a workshop in Kelowna on Monday. First responders gathered in the city to learn the latest information and insights related to responding to the fentanyl overdose crisis and the production of fentanyl and carfentanil in tablet form compounds.

Since the fentanyl epidemic began to take hold across the province last year, Boeschler said the equipment required by drug enforcement officers has expanded.

It香蕉视频直播檚 not just a gun and a badge anymore. Officers now have to consider having protective gloves, be armed with nasal naloxone to deal with an overdose, wear long sleeved shirts to avoid opiate skin contact, wear some form of respiratory protection and have safety goggles.

And those protective measures can be expensive, adding more pressure to policing budget costs.

香蕉视频直播淲e have had officers come in contact and require emergency response assistance to bring them out of a dangerous situation,香蕉视频直播� Boechler said.

香蕉视频直播淭he potential for overdose is real. Our reality is the possibility of being shot, the danger of being hit by a car, approaching a vehicle stop can be dangerous, and now on top of that exposure to these drugs in small amounts can kill us as well.

香蕉视频直播淓ven the bad guys are wearing personal respiratory protection equipment now when mixing this stuff up. But then they put it out on the street, overdoses become common place because of a bad mixture.香蕉视频直播�

Boechler said B.C. has become the frontline for how to deal with the fentanyl crisis.

香蕉视频直播淲e are at the forefront in North America and probably the world. We have become experts on this subject matter because we have had to deal with it,香蕉视频直播� he said.

香蕉视频直播淚 have gone to workshops with DEA and law enforcement officials in Washington, Los Angeles and New York City. We developed a web site through the Justice Institute of BC web site on dealing with fentanyl and it has had more than 200,000 hits. People look to us for developing protocols for how to keep ourselves safe.香蕉视频直播�

But safety is one aspect of the illicit drug market production of fentanyl and carfentanil tablet compounds that doesn香蕉视频直播檛 exist, creating the danger of exposure for both first responders and drug takers.

He says in illicit drug market labs, there are no forms of quality control, no avoidance measures for inadvertent contamination.

香蕉视频直播淒rug traffickers are not pharmacists. They just put something on the market and if people die, then they try a different mixture,香蕉视频直播� he said.

While he says fentanyl has shown up in marijuana and cocaine, he says police generally believe that is evidence of poor drug mixing allocation rather than being done intentionally.

香蕉视频直播淢ixing a stimulant like cocaine with a depressant like fentanyl doesn香蕉视频直播檛 make much sense. I think it香蕉视频直播檚 more a case of mixing fentanyl with the wrong bag of powder.香蕉视频直播�

For the pharmaceutical buyer looking for an off-market alternative, Boechler says unless it comes from a doctor or legitimate pharmaceutical pill provider, consider it counterfeit no matter how legitimate it might look.

香蕉视频直播淚f it香蕉视频直播檚 not legitimate, you might be taking death,香蕉视频直播� Boechler said.

Carfentanil laced pill compounds have become more common place in Vancouver香蕉视频直播檚 Downtown Eastside street scene in recent months, he added.

香蕉视频直播淐arfentanil is so incredibly dangerous. It is used as a tranquilizing agent for large animals such as elephants. Even from a medical health care perspective, we don香蕉视频直播檛 even use it on human beings.

香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 an illicit way to make a bigger buck. The drug traffickers don香蕉视频直播檛 care about people taking it, they are just mixing compounds to make more money.香蕉视频直播�

He uses the comparison of a $20 bill or business card, each which weigh about a gram. A fatal dose of fentanyl is 1/500 of that weight, and a fatal dose of carfentanil is smaller yet at 1/100 of that.

香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 literally grains of salt difference and if you imagine a drug trafficker mixing it into a compound, unfortunately it will get screwed up.香蕉视频直播�