The South Porcupine Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and the OPP Drug Enforcement Unit (DEU) are pleased to partner with the Matheson, Iroquois Falls, and Cochrane Group of Health Services (MICs) as well as local pharmacies to implement the Patch 4 Patch Program.

The Patch 4 Patch Initiative is a collaboration between physicians, pharmacists, and patients to promote the safe, effective, and responsible use of fentanyl patches.  Patients are asked to return any patches previously dispensed to them back to the pharmacy before they are able to receive more.

Police continue to encounter deaths believed to have been caused directly or indirectly by the illegal acquisition, distribution, use, and misuse of the prescription pain medication fentanyl.  It is a painkiller 100 times more potent than morphine and 40 times stronger than heroin.

Prescription medications are legal and intended for prescription use under a physician’s supervision.  When taken as prescribed, they are safe.  It is the misuse of the drug that is dangerous.

“The OPP recognize prescription drug abuse has a serious impact on community safety,” says Detachment Commander Dan Foy, “There is a shared responsibility among several community stakeholders to raise awareness and educate the public.”