A drug alert has been issued in Thunder Bay, Ont., over a toxic substance first found in Toronto earlier this fall.

The drug, called cychlorphine, is a synthetic opioid that was never clinally approved to be sold on the market.

NorWest Community Health Centres (NWCHC) issued the warning on Wednesday, saying cychlorphine was identified in what was sold as a blue Percocet tablet.

“These counterfeit pills mimic pharmacy-issued tablets in terms of colour, size and stamp numbers or markings on them,” said Brittany D’Angelo, director of mental health and substance use programs at NWCHC.

“It was never approved for human consumption, so its true effects and strengths are unknown, but we presume it to resemble those of other potent opioids like fentanyl.”

The Thunder Bay district continues to

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