Extra checks were arranged for the grounds of Nanaimo’s Ecole Quarterway Elementary after a small pouch containing the powerful opioid fentanyl was found there by a student after school on Friday.
The student at the kindergarten-Grade 7 school on Bowen Road did not know what the pouch contained, and took it home, where a parent called Nanaimo RCMP.
The substance was tested and found to be fentanyl.
Nanaimo Ladysmith Public Schools is “extremely concerned” about the incident, said district spokesperson Dale Burgos.
“Obviously we’re very thankful that no one was harmed,” he said. “The student was not affected in any way by picking up the packet.”
Burgos said students who find anything questionable — “whether it’s a little pack of a substance or a backpack or something that’s just unclaimed” — should always tell someone at school or call 911 if no one is around.
Nanaimo RCMP Reserve Const. Gary O’Brien agreed.
“The bottom line is if you find anything you suspect of being drugs, it could be lethal, and it could be fentanyl,” he said. “So don’t touch it. Leave it alone and call us and we will dispose of it accordingly.”
If an adult finds a suspicious item, it can be picked up with something other than their hand, bagged and brought to police, O’Brien said.
The fact that the pouch was found at a school is troubling, but O’Brien said it likely wasn’t intentional.
“It probably was just disposed of randomly or somebody dropped it,” he said.
