Dawson Creek is under a toxic drug alert until August 28, 2026, after white pills sold as Dilaudid tested positive for a synthetic opioid roughly 10 times stronger than fentanyl. Northern Health and the First Nations Health Authority issued the regional warning on August 14, 2026, covering the entire Northern Health region, including Dawson Creek.
The alert says the pills contain Cychlorphine, a drug that may require extra doses of naloxone to reverse an overdose. Because it is long-acting, effects can last up to 48 hours. Standard fentanyl test strips cannot detect Cychlorphine, so people who use unregulated drugs have no at-home way to check for it.
Cychlorphine first appeared in mid-2024 and has already been linked to at least 25 fatal overdoses in North America, according to the Center for Forensic Science Research and Education. In 11 of those cases, it was the only opioid found. The drug has also shown up in more than 100 toxicology cases spanning eight U.S. states and three Canadian provinces.
Health officials urge residents who use unregulated substances, or know someone who does, to carry naloxone and never use alone. Anyone using alone can connect with a remote supervisor through the Lifeguard app or call the National Overdose Response Service at 1-888-688-6677. The Dawson Creek Overdose Prevention Site at 1001 110th Ave. is open daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. as an in-person resource.
This is at least the sixth toxic drug alert for Dawson Creek since August 2024. Previous warnings involved a green down substance, bright pink fentanyl pills, a brown and gold fentanyl tablet linked to a death, and a blue heroin chunk. British Columbia has been under a public health overdose emergency since April 2016, with overdose deaths rising from about 200 a year in 2010 to more than 2,500 in 2023.
