Additional testing would warn city about dangerous drug trends

Xylazine is a veterinary tranquilizer that is mixed into street drugs, frequently with fentanyl and benzodiazepines. It is not an opioid, but it acts as a sedative and muscle relaxant. Like benzodiazepines, it does not respond to naloxone.

“One thing we’re usually concerned about in drug toxicity is polysubstance use, specifically opioids mixed with benzodiazepines or other tranquilizers. Xylazine is one chemical that’s been of concern lately. This would let us know whether it is in our water,” said Woodcock.

Since last year, harm reduction advocates in Saskatoon have issued multiple warnings about street drugs containing all three substances, which have led to clusters of overdoses.

A year later, the Saskatoon Fire Department responded to a record 680 overdoses in April alone. Prince Albert Fire does not respond to and report overdoses in the same way as Saskatoon, but the Community Safety and Well-being Department calculated the local overdose death rate at about twice the provincial average.

Under Health Canada’s wastewater surveillance program, 550 substances are tested for, compared with 16 under the Statistics Canada program.

Health Canada’s program captures a larger number of substances, but not the concentration levels of those substances.

Both programs are part of the National Wastewater Drug Surveillance Initiative.

The information will be owned by the city and will not be available to the public unless the city chooses to release it.

Health Canada will publish province-wide data, however, and cover the cost of testing, with the city responsible for collecting and shipping the samples.

Council voted in favour of moving forward with the program at Tuesday’s executive committee meeting, but it will still need to approve it at a regular council meeting.

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com

by Susan McNeil

Additional testing would warn city about dangerous drug trends

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