A group of pharmacy students at the University of Saskatchewan are spearheading a project to help curb the opioid crisis in Saskatchewan by offering pharmacies fentanyl test strips.
“It’s just a proactive approach to helping individuals to take care of their lives and prevent overdoes,” pharmacy student Shahzaib Fida said.
After learning about the staggering number of opioid-related deaths across Canada, Fida and five other students started a group called Minimizing the Opioid Crisis.
Health Canada has labeled opioid-related harms and deaths a “serious crisis.” Between January to June in 2018, 2,066 Canadians died from overdose, 33 in Saskatchewan.
“All of these statistics add up lead us to believe that something needs to be done or else people are just going to keep dying,” group member Baljit Pandher said.
The students are hoping to give fentanyl test strips to pharmacies in the province, who will then distribute the kits to drug users. Pandher said they are in talks with “a couple of pharmacies in the city.”
The Saskatchewan Health Authority does not provide fentanyl test strips at its harm reduction sites in Saskatoon or Regina and there are no “formal” plans to offer the kits to clients, the authority wrote in a statement to CTV News.
Health Canada said fentanyl test strips may not detect fentanyl-like drugs, but Fida said the kits they are using have a 96 per cent sensitivity to fentanyl.
“Even if we’re suggesting that it’s not completely accurate, it’s still something in the right direction.”
The goal of the test strips is to potentially steer drug users away from a substance if they know fentanyl is laced in the drug, Fida said.
“I think this can definitely save someone’s life.”
