A new opioid has been found in Toronto's drug supply and users may not even know it

Julia Alevato · CBC News

· Posted: Nov 04, 2025 5:07 PM EST | Last Updated: November 4

A caller opioid has been detected successful Toronto's unregulated cause supply, according to a caller report, and users whitethorn not adjacent cognize they're taking it.

Toronto’s Drug Checking Service said successful a study past week that a caller opioid, known arsenic cychlorphine, was recovered successful 3 fake pharmaceutical opioid samples collected successful the city's downtown halfway and the westbound extremity betwixt Oct. 25 and 28.

One of the samples was expected to beryllium hydromorphone, Dilaudid, different was expected to beryllium oxycodone, OxyContin, and the 3rd was said to beryllium Percocet. But nary contained their expected cause — lone cychlorphine, the study said. 

Karen McDonald, the enforcement manager for Toronto’s Drug Checking Service, said those utilizing the opioid don’t adjacent cognize it.

“There appears to beryllium an emerging inclination wherever it (cychlorphine) is presenting successful benignant of fake pharmaceutical opioids that radical aren't expecting it to beryllium in,” she told CBC connected Tuesday.

Cychlorphine is simply a synthetic opioid with chartless spot and effects, said Toronto’s Drug Checking Service.  Other related orphine opioids are considered to beryllium arsenic beardown arsenic fentanyl. 

WATCH | Opioid decease complaint declining nationwide:

The hazard of overdose tin alteration depending connected the spot of cychlorphine and however overmuch of it is used, the study said.

So far, nary of the samples are associated with an overdose, said McDonald.

Cychlorphine was archetypal detected successful an expected Percocet illustration connected Sept. 12, McDonald said, but Health Canada had detected it earlier successful seized cause samples from instrumentality enforcement successful Ontario.

McDonald said she wants to bring consciousness that the caller cause exists and is contiguous successful Toronto. 

“Our main extremity close present is conscionable to amended radical astir what we cognize astir this cause and besides pass radical that it is circulating and that astatine this constituent successful time. If you were utilizing those circumstantial pharmaceutical opioids, determination is simply a accidental that this opioid could beryllium successful that drug,” she said. 

Naloxone should reverse the effects of cychlorphine and different specified opioids successful an overdose situation, the cause checking work said.

Last year, much than 2,200 Ontarians died from opioids, a 15 per cent alteration from 2023, according to information from the Office of the Chief Coroner. 

The mortality complaint from opioid overdoses was 14.3 deaths per 100,000 radical successful 2024. Fentanyl and its related substances were recovered successful much than 83 per cent of opioid toxicity deaths, portion stimulants were recovered successful 69 per cent of deaths, the information shows.