Olivia Grandy
Saskatoon StarPhoenix
A medical facility in North Battleford may have been the source of “highly dangerous” drugs that could now be on the streets, prompting the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) to issue an alert to the public.
According to a statement to the StarPhoenix, SHA was alerted to discarded needles and other drug paraphernalia on an abandoned property in North Battleford. Staff identified discarded sharps and depleted vials of controlled medications that were lost or stolen from a biomedical waste container. It resulted in a drug alert on Oct. 7.
Discarded vials indicated that fentanyl, morphine, midazolam, rocuronium, succinylcholine, propofol and ketamine may be circulating in the community. These medications are in the form of clear or milky-white liquid, said the alert.
If consumed, the drugs, which cannot “be safely used outside of hospital settings,” carry the risk of “paralysis and death.”
Kayla DeMong, the executive director at Prairie Harm Reduction, said the situation is “very different” than recent drug alerts in Saskatoon that have been issued after community testing found high levels of dangerous substances in street drugs.Article content
“The concern is, depending on where the substances and medications went, are they going to end up at a street level to be used by people who are using substances in our community? Where are they going to show up?” she asked.
“Just because it happened in North Battleford doesn’t mean that’s where the substances will remain.”
There were drug alerts in Saskatoon on Sept. 5 and Sept. 26, making this the third in less than a month.
The alert noted that naloxone, a fast-acting medication used to temporarily reverse the effects of opioid overdoses, is only effective at reversing fentanyl and morphine; however, it will not reverse the effects of benzodiazepines or paralytics (paralyzing agents). The other drugs thought to be circulating are these types.
“With the exception of fentanyl and morphine, naloxone isn’t beneficial,” said DeMong. “There aren’t other medications that can be given out to the community to reverse any side effects from these other substances, so it’s very important that people have as much understanding and education as possible.”
With the information available to the public as of Thursday, DeMong said she perceived an incident like this as “just not something that happens regularly.”
In response to the alert, NDP critic Nicole Sarauer called on the provincial government to implement an emergency response plan to the current drug crisis in a release from Oct.8.
“We need more action to get deadly drugs off Saskatchewan streets, improve public safety and save lives,” said the justice, public safety, corrections and policing shadow minister.
SHA is investigating how the medical waste ended up at the location, according to the statement. Staff are working with SHA’s biomedical waste disposal provider and local health teams to identify “any gaps in handling and disposal processes.”
The alert will remain in effect until Oct. 14.
