Drug toxicity deaths in Sask. seemingly on course to match record set in 2023

Province highlights efforts to address drug use WATCH: The provincial government is highlighting its efforts to address drug use ahead of International Overdose Awareness Day.

Saskatchewan’s overdose crisis is tragically on par with last year’s record breaking total, with more than 200 people having lost their lives to accidental overdoses in the first seven months of the year.

From Jan. 1 to July 31, 229 people have died as a result of drug toxicity in Saskatchewan. Of those, 104 have been conclusively proven to be accidental, while five were found to be a result of suicide. One case is still classified as undetermined.

In addition, suspected drug toxicity deaths total 119 in the same period, resulting in a total of 229.

Including both confirmed and suspected deaths – 2023 saw 460 people lose their lives to drug toxicity.

“Drug toxicity is getting much, much worse. We're seeing combinations of drugs where people still don't know there's fentanyl in it,” explained Kayla Demong, executive director of Prairie Harm Reduction.

The Saskatoon-based non-profit does offer drug testing services out of its drop-in and safe consumption site. While information is power in these circumstances, it alone isn’t stopping the wave of tragedy that surrounds drug toxicity across the province.

“We're seeing multiple overdoses a day, and we're losing people at this point every couple days,” Demong said. “It has become one of the most tragic things I've ever seen working in this field, because we have so many people who are so desperate for proper support who aren't getting it.”

According to Moms Stop the Harm, 2,900 people have died due to drug related harms in Saskatchewan since 2010.

Drug Toxicity Deaths

Source: Saskatchewan Coroners Service

Demong says the province’s current approach of solely focusing on treatment is bound to ineffective – due to it not taking into account all the necessary steps on the road to recovery.

“Right now, it's treatment or nothing, or it's harm reduction or nothing, and it's just become this ongoing clash without actually looking at the research and the facts and the reality of substance use to really make a proper plan that will save people's lives,” she said.

According to Prairie Harm Reduction, housing supports are absolutely key to begin the process.

“With the community that we're working in. We need housing first. We need basic needs met. People need to be provided enough on income assistance to actually be able to meet their basic needs, and then treatment is an option,” Demong explained.

“But right now, we have people who are using and overdosing, sleeping in alleys. You can't send somebody to treatment and release them back into an alley and expect that there's going to be success and more than anything, we need a continuum of care.”

The province touted its new action plan for mental health and addictions in the leadup to International Overdose Awareness Day on Aug. 31 – highlighting its commitment to doubling treatment capacity by adding 500 treatment beds across the province.

So far, 231 beds have been added.

"By helping people overcome addictions and by supporting recovery, we can save lives, heal families and strengthen our communities,” Mental Health and Addictions Minister Tim McLeod said in the release.

With September now well underway and the province traveling headlong into fall – Demong highlighted the changing dangers for those at-risk of overdosing.

Demong says regardless of the season, there’s always environmental hazards.

“When people are dehydrated and it's really hot and they're overheated, that increases risk of overdose, because you're already dealing with other factors,” she said. “With winter, it's freezing. If you're overdosing in an alley and nobody sees you and it's -30 [degrees], the chance of living is very minimal.”

In 2023, the province activated its cold weather strategy on Nov. 1 as temperatures dipped across the province.

Demong says discussions around a strategy for the coming winter have not happened yet.

“Every year, they [say], ‘Well we're going to start planning in the spring,’” she said.

“Well, we still don't have a plan.”

Another aspect of its overdose strategy the province highlighted were its free Take Home Naloxone kits.

The kits are available free of charge at more than 430 locations across Saskatchewan.

Since its introduction in 2015, the province says 44,000 people have been trained to use them and 12,000 overdoses have been reversed by members of the public.

While more access to life-saving resources like Naxolone is always a good thing, Demong noted that it acts as a band-aid – not a solution.

"It definitely has helped raise awareness. We give away thousands of kits a year … but it's not solving the overdose crisis. Nothing that's happening right now is solving the overdose crisis."