Fentanyl crisis coming to Ontario, police warn

Ontario police and community groups are raising the alarm that a fentanyl crisis could be looming as synthetic versions of the drug appear across the province.

An advisory released Monday by the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police, the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council and other groups says 2016 has been a record year for overdose alerts and seizures of "bootleg" fentanyls by law enforcement officers.

The advisory says so-called bootleg fentanyls refer to drugs that are not prescribed by doctors, but produced synthetically and sold on the black market, usually mixed in with other illicit substances.