While street drug testing is new to Saskatchewan, in B.C. it's helped prevent overdoses for years
On Tuesday the provincial government announced it would be funding drug testing strips to detect two potentially deadly substances sometimes found in street drugs.
While the drug testing strips are new to Saskatchewan, other jurisdictions such as B.C. have incorporated them into their harm reduction strategies for years.
Medical health officer Dr. Mark Lysyshyn with Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) says the authority looked into drug testing strips in 2016 and felt if people could identify contaminants, people might make different decisions about how and where they use drugs.
“We first looked at this at (supervised drug use centre) Insite because it was sort of a controlled environment where we could see people using the strips, we could see what they did with the result and then we could see if they overdosed,” Lysyshyn told CTV News.
Lysyshyn says people were willing to use them and when drugs tested positive for fentanyl, they were more likely to reduce their dose to try and avoid an overdose.
“Are they gonna take a smaller dose? Are they gonna use it more slowly? Maybe they’re going to tell somebody that they’re gonna use, maybe they’ll leave their door open,” Lysyshyn said.
The testing strips now available in Saskatchewan's two largest cities can detect the presence of fentanyl and benzodiazepine.
Of Saskatchewan's 73 confirmed opioid-related deaths in 2021, 66 per cent involved fentanyl which is 50-100 times more toxic than other opioids, the province said when announcing the rollout of the testing strips.
After the interest from users, VCH incorporated other drug testing methods into their program such as spectrometers, however, they require trained staff to use them.
“The strips are great for that because almost anybody can be trained on how to use them so the strips get used at our sites whenever anyone wants to check their drugs and a technician is not there,” Lysyshyn said.
Jenny Matthews with the British Columbia Centre on Substance Use emphasizes there are limitations when it comes to all drug checking technology but that it’s important there are some tools out in the community regardless.
“Until we have safer supply, people need to have ways of finding out more about what they’re using so that they can make choices about how they’re going to use their drugs,” Matthews said.
Matthews says a limitation of the strips is that they don’t reveal how much fentanyl is present and don't pick up other adulterants that may be harmful.
The strips offered in Saskatchewan are not yet available for testing at home.
People using drugs can access the strips at Prairie Harm Reduction in Saskatoon and Newo Yotina Friendship Centre in Regina.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
World seeing near breakdown of international law amid wars in Gaza and Ukraine, Amnesty says
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
U.S. Senate passes bill forcing TikTok's parent company to sell or face ban, sends to Biden for signature
The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would force TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers that's expected to face legal challenges.
Wildfire southwest of Peace River spurs evacuation order
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan with big bipartisan vote
The U.S. Senate has passed US$95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.