Province purchases drug-testing machines to tackle crisis

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This article was published 10/05/2024 (483 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The NDP government is moving on interim measures to address Manitoba’s toxic drug crisis as plans for a permanent supervised consumption site are hammered out, the Free Press has learned.

In an interview Friday, Bernadette Smith, minister of addictions, said the province has purchased two drug-testing machines called fourier transform infrared spectrometer, which determine the components of illicit drugs. One will be placed with the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority’s Healthy Sexuality and Harm Reduction’s street connections team, and the other will be accessible at a yet-to-be-revealed community-based organization downtown.

Smith said the province is in discussions on a funding deal with drop-in and resource centre Sunshine House to assist with running its mobile overdose prevention site, MOPS, an RV that provides people a space to use illicit substances under supervision. She said more details will be announced “shortly.”

“They’ve been doing lifesaving work,” she said of MOPS, which is paid for by federal funding and donations.

The price tag for the drug-testing machines is $200,000, which includes the cost of training staff to use them. They’re expected to be fully operational by June, Smith said.

Anyone will be able to use the drug-testing machines, which reveal substances in the drugs by testing a small sample. People who use unregulated street drugs often don’t know what’s in their supply. Recent data released by the office of the chief medical examiner showed a new designer drug was detected for the first time in cases of fatal overdoses. The drug, desalkylgidazepam, was present in 18 deaths in January.

“We want to make sure people know what they’re ingesting,” Smith said. “This is exactly what will help people know what they’re taking.”

Smith said one of her family members overdosed on a drug she thought was Xanax, which was laced with fentanyl. Paramedics got her to hospital in time.

“She could have died,” Smith said.

Davey Cole, co-ordinator of Sunshine House’s mobile overdose prevention site, applauded the province for buying two new drug-testing machines. MOPS fundraised to buy its machine last year.

“We’re excited that it won’t be just us doing it,” Cole said.

Still, Cole acknowledged it took time for community members to trust staff and feel comfortable having their drugs tested. Once relationships were developed, and tests started to reveal what was in the supply, some would change how they used — by taking more time or using smaller doses.

MOPS sometimes puts out drug alerts to the broader community through SaferSites.ca if it finds something “very concerning” in the supply.

“We did one test for something that was (supposed to be) meth,” Cole said. “There was a bunch of gas products in it and no meth.”

MOPS also tracks what’s in the substances in its own database. It doesn’t require any names or personal information.

Cole wouldn’t comment on the funding discussions with the province.

The minister said she didn’t have details yet about what, if any, information the organizations will require people to provide when testing substances. People won’t be able to use the substances on site, but if someone tests their drugs and decides they don’t want them anymore, they can leave them to be safely disposed of, she said.

Smith said she hopes a drug alert system can be set up to inform the broader public when certain drugs produce concerning or unexpected results.

A Health Canada exemption, which the province has obtained, is needed to operate the machines, she said.

In the coming months, the province will acquire more drug-testing machines, Smith said. At least one will go to a community in the southern region and another will go up north.

“We know that this isn’t just in the city,” she said of toxic drugs.

The province is working on plans to hold consultations regarding the creation of Manitoba’s first supervised consumption site, to be located in downtown Winnipeg.

Smith has said she wants the site to be more than a space for people to use drugs, knowing they will be revived if they overdose. She wants access to primary care, housing supports and services to help people get on employment income assistance.

The supervised consumption site is slated to open next year.

Preliminary data from the office of the chief medical examiner show 56 drug-related deaths were recorded in January — the highest monthly total since 57 deaths were reported in August 2021.

There were 445 drug-related deaths in 2023, down from 467 in 2022, but up from 432 in 2021.

— with files from Dan Lett

katrina.clarke@freepress.mb.ca