Fentanyl suspected in death of Vancouver teen

A teenage boy is dead and another one is recoveringafter a suspected overdose of the powerful opioid fentanyl, sayVancouver police.

The deceased isa 17-year-old boy who was on life support after he and a 16-year-old friendallegedly tookfakeOxycontin, known as "fake 80s," mixed withfentanyl.

Police saidthe teenagerswere rushed to Vancouver Children's Hospital on Saturday night when they passed outin a park after theyconsumed the pills, whichwere green and had the number 80 on them.

The 16 year-old has since recovered from the incident and has been released from hospital.

Vancouver police are onceagain warning drug users about the synthetic opioidthat is roughly50 to 100 times more toxic than morphine.

• Spike in fatal fentanyl overdoses sparks warning in B.C.

• Sudden death of toddler's parents tied to fentanyl, coroner confirms

"There'sno such thing as a safe street drug," saidConstable Brian Montague in a written release.

"There'sno way to know for certain what the drug may contain."

Dr. Jane Buxton, with the B.C. Centre for Disease Control,recently saidthe number of drug overdose deaths involving fentanyl has risen from five percent to 25 per cent over the last three years.

Recreational drug users are believed to be at risk of afentanyl overdose because it can be mixed in with other drugs.