Health officials in Leeds, Grenville and Lanark sound alarm over increasingly toxic drug supply [Video]

The Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit (LGLDHU) is warning of an increasingly toxic drug supply in the region after visits to its emergency rooms doubled in recent weeks.

In a news release issued Tuesday, health unit officials said there have been 21 drug poisoning-related visits to ERs in the last two weeks, twice as much as is typical for the area.

LGLDHU Medical Officer of Health Dr. Linna Li said drug addiction has been a growing issue in the community for years, but it’s recent admissions to the ER and testing of the drug supply that has the health unit even more alarmed. 

Like Belleville, Ont., and Ottawa, health officials in the LGLDHU have discovered the presence of xylazine in street drugs, a tranquilizer used by vets to control an animal’s heart rate, blood pressure and breathing.

It can be very dangerous for humans, said Li, and its effects cannot be reversed by …