Author: Nikita Burke, Ph.D.

Addiction to opioids has reached epidemic proportions in North America. Fentanyl is an opioid, which are a class of painkillers that includes morphine, oxycodone. Fentanyl has proved to be particularly insidious. The beloved musician Prince died of an accidental fentanyl overdose last year at the age of 57. In Alberta, six people died from fentanyl overdose in 2011. In 2016, this soared to 343 deaths.