Addictions addressed in budget, minister says
The Saskatchewan Party government’s 2018-19 budget has no new funding to address the growing issue of fentanyl-related deaths.
There have been recent spikes in overdoses — as recently as last month, cocaine laced with the deadly opioid led to three people dying in Saskatoon. Deaths in Kamsack and Maidstone were also believed to be related to fentanyl.
The fact that Wednesday’s budget has no new money specifically dedicated to such developments is a concern for many, including members of the NDP.
“This has been an issue that has ravaged other provinces and is clearly emerging here in Saskatchewan. “The fentanyl crisis, that there is not even a mention of this in our budget is of huge concern,” NDP health critic Danielle Chartier said on Wednesday. “People’s lives are at risk. Not just people who suffer from addictions or who use drugs, but first responders, people who work in health facilities.”
Health Minister Jim Reiter pointed to an overlap in mental health and addictions issues, noting there was $11 million in new funding specifically targeted to the former in the budget.
He said “part of that will be addictions” funding, which adds on to the roughly $40 million the province kept in place this year to address addictions.
“It’s not always easy to segregate that funding ” between mental health and addictions because the two often overlap, Reiter said.
“We’re going to try and focus on that as much as we can. All addictions are important, but the fentanyl and crystal meth seem to be sort of very front-of-mind right now.”
Crystal meth has long been the drug of choice for many struggling with addictions in Saskatchewan, and it remains a top concern of advocates working in harm reduction, as well as police forces.
Similar to what was seen in Saskatoon and elsewhere with fentanyl-laced cocaine, many overdoses are suspected of being a result of people addicted to crystal meth getting a “bad batch” of the drug that includes fentanyl.
“We take this very seriously, and we’re putting an appropriate amount of funding, I think, into it and you’ll see that continue,” Reiter said, noting the province will be announcing an expansion of its naloxone program, which helps immediately alleviate an opioid overdose.
“Even one death is too many in those instances,” he said.
Already the province has equipped first responders with naloxone. Led largely by the Saskatchewan Health Authority, there has also been an effort to train those working with people who have addictions to administer naloxone.
The province has spent $94,000 on a take-home naloxone program, which is available by prescription to those dealing with substance abuse. The province says training and costs of the kits for Narcan, a nasal spray, would be similar to the cost of the naloxone kits.