1. Some observations about W-18, the bionic opioid all over the news, said to be 100x more potent than fentanyl calgaryherald.com/news/crime/er-…

2. Estimates of W-18 potency derive from its 1984 patent 1.usa.gov/1STYNSU Key table below, via @mevansbrown

3. Thing is, these numbers derive from a mouse model (phenylquinone writhing test) and aren’t specific to opioids nature.com/nature/journal…

4. Bottom line: The potency of W-18 relative to fentanyl is unknown, and the answer to this question is "Not very" x.com/forensictoxguy…

5. More important question: Why did Follow us @GovCanHealth take 4 months to identify powder seized in December as W-18? theglobeandmail.com/news/alberta/a…

6. And once W-18 was confirmed, why the delay in notifying the public? Fair question for Minister Sarah Hoffman and Alberta Health / end

ICYMI... x.com/davidjuurlink/…

Confronting the stigmatizing language of addiction tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.108… @SubstanceAbuseJ HT Stefan Kertesz, MD, MSc

W-18 grows less concerning by the day. Fentanyl not so much. x.com/zenbrainest/st…