Regulate pill press machines used to make fentanyl tablets: Abbotsford Police

Police are calling for tighter regulations on pill press machines that are being used to turn raw drugs like fentanyl into counterfeit tablets for sale on the streets.

The machines often seized by police officers when they raid clandestine drug labs are capable of churning out thousands of fake pills per hour.

"What's very concerning for us is that these pills are very professional looking," said Abbotsford Police Deputy Chief Mike Serr.

"Someone purchasing a pill on the street may think they are purchasing a diverted prescription drug, when they could easily be getting a counterfeit drug that could contain fentanyl."

Despite their frequent illicit use, in Canada the machines can legally be bought online for $3,000 to $10,000, along with the extra binding agents needed to create the pills, he noted.

"Right now they are not regulated and the importation of them there really is very little from an intelligence perspective that police can do," said Serr.

Pill presses regulated in the U.S.

Serr, who chairs the Canadian Association of Police Chiefs' drug abuse committee, said police have been talking with Health Canada and the Public Safety Ministry for the past six months about how the machines could be regulated nationally.

"To have these machines registered would be at least one step for us.... We could then have a better sense for ensuring they are for legitimate purposes," said Serr.

Serr notes that In the U.S., the Drug Enforcement Agency regulates the machines, and a private members bill in Alberta could lead to the regulation of the machines there.

Police are also concerned about the associated binding agents and dyes used in the pills and stamps, and pill counters used in the clandestine labs to process the drugs.

"Anything at all that could be used for illicit drugs we certainly have a concern for," he said.

Alberta's proposed legislation would also limit the sale of capsule filling machines and pharmaceutical mixers to pharmacists or people holding a licence.

B.C. Health Minister Terry Lake says he's open to the idea as well, but would rather see the initiative from the federal government.

"I just think it would be far more effect to do it across the country. Otherwise if we do it here, and Alberta, Saskatchewan doesn't, we'll just see them move in here," said Lake.

"These are criminal organizations. They know how to get a hold of this equipment. But again we'll have more discussions about that."

Police can seize machines in raids

Serr notes it is important to ensure that any new regulation does not stop the legitimate use of the machines, which includes drug research and small scale vitamin manufacturing.

When asked for comment by CBC News, Health Canada did not respond directly to the regulation of the machines, but said police can already seize them if they are used to manufacture illegal drugs.

"Under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, pill presses being used in the illicit manufacturing of controlled substances, such as pills containing fentanyl, are illegal and can be seized by law enforcement," said an email from Health Canada.

In the meantime, police say they will continue to try and track the illegal substances that go into the illegal pills.

"If you can restrict the ingredients, it makes it very difficult to manufacture the drugs," said Const. Ian MacDonald with the Abbotsford Police Department.