New drug testing machines touted by Manitoba government as way to combat toxic drug crisis

The Manitoba government has purchased two new drug testing machines in an effort to boost harm reduction resources amid a toxic drug crisis in the province.

The machines, called Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometers, use lasers to determine the chemical composition of substances, to give help inform drug users about what they are consuming.

"We know that there's a toxic drug supply out there and we wanted to make sure that folks knew what they were using," Bernadette Smith, minister of housing, addictions and homelessness, said in an interview.

"It's to help folks to make informed decisions on what drugs they're using and whether they would choose to ingest them, or whether they would take less of them, or not take them at all," Smith said.

The province is in the process of training staff to use the machines, one of which will be given to the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority's Health Sexuality and Harm Reduction Street Connections team. 

The other will go to a community organization, which has yet to be determined.

"We are working to identify based on need and we're working with a lot of the first responders … [and] community organizations to best see where they're needed."

Smith expects the machines will be in operation next month. 

The cost to buy the two machines and train staff to use them was about $200,000, she said.

More machines are expected to arrive later this year. The northern and southern health regions will each receive one, and approximately two more will also be purchased, Smith said.

Harm reduction advocates have warned toxic drug combinations pose a risk to the lives of users. In January, the province saw 56 drug-related deaths, the highest recorded in a single month.

While naloxone can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, it is not effective against other substances. Earlier this week, the Manitoba Harm Reduction Network issued an alert regarding a new drug combination desalkylgidazepam, or DAG, a combination of the opiate fentanyl and benzodiazapines.

"It's a downer as well, so it's suppresses your breathing," said Davey Cole, co-ordinator of Sunshine House's mobile overdose prevention site, recreational vehicle that offers drug testing and other harm reduction supplies.

Sunshine House has its own FTIR machine, and Cole says the response from the community has been positive. In a recent evaluation of the mobile overdose prevention program, community members said they would like to see more drug testing services offered, Cole said.

"So it's really cool that it's going to be other people and other agencies doing it now too."

The machines are an interim step as the NDP government continues the process of setting up the first supervised consumption site in the province.

It's expected to be located somewhere downtown, possibly on north Main Street. In addition to having staff on hand to intervene in the event of an overdose, Smith said the site will have "wraparound supports, in terms of having folks connected with housing workers, having folks connected with EIA workers, primary health care," she said.

Smith expects the supervised consumption site to begin operating some time next year.