SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Fentanyl is here and it's killing people, an NWT Supreme Court judge announced Monday while sentencing a 32-year-old man to more than three years in jail for supplying a local dealer with the dangerous drug.

Rory Quentin Moore, 32, was sentenced to 42 months in total. After having one month knocked off his sentence for time he's already spent awaiting trial, he'll serve nearly three and a half years in jail. Crown prosecutor Annie Piche had asked for a prison term of up to 3.5 years during a sentencing hearing earlier this month.

Moore has pleaded guilty to possession of fentanyl, possession with the intention to distribute and possession of the proceeds of crime.

"Every time this drug is sold it can mean a new addict and a new death," Justice Louise Charbonneau told the court during Moore's sentencing.

The accused had previously argued that he wasn't trying to get people "hooked" when the street level supplier sold fentanyl to drug dealer Dayl Eldon Hein in August 2014, but Charbonneau described this attitude as "wishful thinking, not reality."

"He could not know ... the reality was ... those pills could end up in anybody's hands, including a new user," she told the court.

Moore caught the RCMP's attention in June 2014 after being found passed out in a vehicle with two bottles of pills, including fentanyl. He was arrested and charged after being observed selling fentanyl to Hein during a subsequent investigation. A search warrant of his home found 88 pills, 23 of which were later determined to be fentanyl.

Fentanyl is about 100 times more potent than morphine, with a high chance of overdose as its legal form is usually distributed in patch form, to be absorbed slowly through the skin. Drug dealers extract the drug and convert it into more readily digestible forms, such as pills. Illicit pills sold on the street - often marked with the number "80" on them and coloured green to resemble OxyContin pills - typically sell for around $90 each.

Since illegal drugs don't come with warning labels, Charbonneau pointed out that users are often unaware how much of the drug they are taking. Deaths attributed to fentanyl have been rising across the country. In Alberta, the number increased to 272 last year, from just six in 2011. While statistics remain in the single digits in the Northwest Territories, Charbonneau says there's no reason "to believe what happened elsewhere won't happen here."

"More and more police are seizing fentanyl in this jurisdiction. It is now definitely here," she said. "To think the outcome here would be any different than anywhere else is delusional. This drug kills people."

Even though Moore had pleaded guilty and made efforts to rehabilitate himself in the two years since his arrest, Charbonneau said she was duty-bound to deliver a heavy sentence so as to deter others from dealing the drug.

Moore described his arrest as a turning point for him and his family. But while he has made progress, Charbonneau said his rehabilitation remains incomplete. Drug screenings came up clear for fentanyl but Moore has tested positive for marijuana "on a few occasions." He was also caught shoplifting.

In addition to his jail time, Moore is prohibited from possessing firearms for 10 years after his release, must forfeit $1,000 in cash seized during his arrest, comply with a DNA order and pay $600 in criminal surcharges.

Charbonneau recommended he serve his time in Yellowknife to remain close to his family. Convicts handed sentences longer than two years typically serve in a federal prison down south.

"The court in this jurisdiction must adopt a hostile attitude toward fentanyl trafficking," she said.

"It's very clear Mr. Moore has come a long way ... But also clear that rehabilitation process must be an ongoing process for many years to come."

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