{"id":63178,"date":"2026-03-19T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thelaker.ca\/?p=63178"},"modified":"2026-03-19T10:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T13:00:00","slug":"nsh-receives-report-regarding-recent-drug-sample-seized-in-halifax-county","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/?p=63178","title":{"rendered":"NSH receives report regarding recent drug sample seized in Halifax County"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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HALIFAX COUNTY:<\/strong> NSH have received a report regarding a recent sample that was seized by law enforcement in Halifax County and was tested (verified) at the national Drug Analysis Service laboratory. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The date the sample was received is March 10. The report indicated the first detection of a substance of concern, ethylbromazolam (a benzodiazepine), i.e., this is the first time this drug has been detected in Nova Scotia\u2019s unregulated drug supply. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Co-occuring substances detected include cocaine, fluorofentanyl (a fentanyl analog), phenacetin and caffeine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to Stay Safe: Let someone know, start low, and go slow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do NOT use drugs alone \u2013 Use with someone you trust or call the National Overdose Response Service (NORS) at 1-888-688-NORS. They will stay on the phone with you while you use, so they can get you help if needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Start with a very small amount \u2013 These drugs are stronger than what people may expect or may be used to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ADVERTISEMENT:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Have naloxone ready \u2013 Naloxone can help with opioid overdoses, but it will NOT work on other substances, such as benzodiazepines. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even if you\u2019re unsure what substance caused an overdose, always give naloxone\u2014it won\u2019t harm the person, but it may help if opioids are involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Call 911 immediately for any overdose \u2013 Even if naloxone is used, emergency help is still needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Expect the unexpected \u2013 Always assume street drugs may not be what you think and contain drugs different from or stronger than you expect. Pills that look like real medicine could be fake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Avoid mixing drugs \u2013 Combining opioids, benzodiazepines, and alcohol greatly increases the risk of overdose and death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Go to an overdose prevention site \u2013 If available in your area, these sites provide a safe space to use drugs with medical staff who can help in case of an emergency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 ReFIX Halifax: 2151 Gottingen St. (902-209-9370)
\u2022 PeerSix Sydney: 75 Prince St. (902-567-1766)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ADVERTISEMENT:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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If someone overdoses:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7 Call 911 immediately \u2013 Tell them someone is unresponsive.
\u00b7 Give naloxone if you have it. More than one dose may be needed if high potency opioids are involved. If there are no opioids, naloxone will be ineffective but will not cause harm \u2013 give it anyway.
\u00b7 Stay with them and make sure they can breathe.
\u00b7 If they stop breathing, perform CPR until help arrives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get Free Naloxone Kits: You can get naloxone for free at most pharmacies and harm reduction programs. To learn more, visit https:\/\/mha.nshealth.ca\/en\/takehomenaloxoneprogram<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking for help?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Mental Health and Addictions Crisis Line \u2013 1-888-429-8167
\u2022 Kids Help Phone 1-800-668-6868; Text CONNECT to 686868
\u2022 Mental Health and Addictions Intake Service \u2013 (Mon-Fri 8:30-4:30; Tues and Thurs until 8 pm) \u2013 1-855-922-1122
\u2022 211 Nova Scotia \u2013 information and referrals to community and social services: Call 2-1-1 or 1-855-466-4994; Email: help@ns.211.ca<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nova Scotia Health is committed to building culturally safe spaces. Language not respectful of other users of the site (including harassing, aggressive, or abusive language) will be removed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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HALIFAX COUNTY: NSH have received a report regarding a recent sample that was seized by law enforcement in Halifax County and was tested (verified) at the national Drug Analysis Service laboratory. The date the sample was received is March 10. The report indicated the first detection of a substance of concern, ethylbromazolam (a benzodiazepine), i.e., […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":63179,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,957],"tags":[7989,10582,50,8718,1617,1003],"class_list":["post-63178","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-news","tag-drug-alert","tag-ethylbromazolam","tag-halifax","tag-halifax-county","tag-n-s-health","tag-nsha"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63178","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=63178"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63178\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/63179"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=63178"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=63178"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=63178"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}