'You want to get angry': Manitoba man in critical condition after overdose on tainted drugs in The Pas

RCMP are warning people in The Pas about a tainted illicit drug circulating in the area after responding to six overdoses at the same location Saturday night.

Mounties got the first call around 8:45 p.m., responding to an establishment on Fischer Avenue in The Pas. Four men there were found to be unresponsive. Investigators say the men had ingested drugs, possibly ecstasy, believed to be laced with an opioid.

Emergency responders treated the four men with naloxone, a medication used to counteract the effect of opioids. Three were revived and taken to hospital where their treatment continued. They have since been released.

The fourth, Harlan Fourre, had travelled up to The Pas from Winnipeg to visit friends and family. His father, Joseph Fourre, told CTV News he received a call from his daughter last night telling him what happened.

"My son went out with his friends and they visited an establishment. They were found on the floor, all four of them," said Fourre from outside Brandon Regional Health Centre on Sunday.

Fourre said the three other men who were with his son were treated with naloxone at the scene because they still had a heartbeat. "My son however didn’t have a heartbeat," he said. "And so they worked on him in The Pas for about 45 minutes plus to get his heart going again."

Fourre said his son was stabilized at St. Anthony's General Hospital in The Pas, then transported to Brandon Regional Health Centre where he remains in critical condition.

He said the last 12 hours have been draining. "You want to get angry, you want to do all these things when you hear about something like this," said Fourre. "But first and foremost it's 'is he okay?' And right now he's not."

Fourre said the next 48 hours are going to be crucial for Harlan, who will be undergoing an MRI on Monday. "That much oxygen not getting to his brain may have caused some deep tissue damage," Fourre said.

Fourre works as a program support worker in addictions, and is a former heroin addict. "This stuff has to stop," he said. "These drugs, these lacings, these mixtures of illicit drugs out there that are killing people have to stop. It's almost weekly now that were hearing about somebody dying from overdose."

He believes more needs to be done to reduce the amount of laced drugs on the streets. "We need to get harder in the task force of finding out where these drugs are coming from, and making people accountable that are selling them," said Fourre.

Fourre described Harlan as a remarkable young man, loved by everyone. "His boss is taking this really hard because he's such a great kid, he didn’t deserve this."

His advice to parents is to talk to their children about drugs.

"Don’t shy away from this subject. Be open, be loving, be kind in your discussions, not condescending or judgemental," said Fourre.

"When they go out at night, tell them to be careful. Because you never know if that’s the last night you're going to see them."

Several hours after the first call, RCMP recieved reports of two more overdoses at the same location. Two men were taken to hospital where they were treated and released.

RCMP say a dangerous illicit drug is circulating in the area. The drug is believed to be in a crystal-like powder form, purple in colour, and may contain fentanyl.

Anyone with information about this drug is asked to call 204-627-6204, or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477.