Overdose alert issued after nearly 50 overdoses reported in Saskatoon over past week

The Saskatoon Fire Department responded to nearly 50 reported overdoses in the past week, prompting an alert from the government.

In an overdose alert, the Saskatchewan Ministry of Health said Saskatoon Fire responded to 25 overdoses in the city on Tuesday and Wednesday, then another 23 from Friday morning to Saturday morning. 

The alert did not state if any of those overdoses were fatal. 

Prairie Harm Reduction in Saskatoon says an additional five people overdosed within its safe consumption site on Friday, much more than the one or two overdoses every few days they usually see.

According to Prairie Harm Reduction, some of the drugs that are causing the overdoses could contain drugs that aren't opioids — given they tested drugs that contained benzodiazepines — and will not respond to naloxone, which temporarily reverses the slowed breathing caused by opioid overdoses

Kayla DeMong, executive director at Prairie Harm Reduction, said to be careful of light pink, red or purple drugs. She referenced one overdose in the facility's safe consumption site on Friday where naloxone did not work.

"Our paramedic was able to stabilize with oxygen and CPR, but we're not sure what had been taken with that person that resulted in naloxone not working," she said.

DeMong says there have been surge patterns since the beginning of the year of more overdoses than usual. In the most recent case, the gap between a surge was only several days.

A few blocks away from Prairie Harm Reduction's location, a small group of people gathered outside Station 20 West as the destination of a march to bring awareness to homelessness and, for some, the substance addiction crisis in the city.

David Fineday helps organize an awareness walk every two weeks in an attempt to keep advocating for changes to end homelessness.

"These are all are relatives," he said, motioning to people in the area.

"We just love our people and we want to help them so they're not homeless, so we don't lose any more."

Among them was Irene Head, who said her 46-year-old son, Kevin James Sutherland, died of an overdose and was found outside in the cold. 

Head said she would look for him for days and, when she found Sutherland, he wouldn't come home.

"Why aren't you at home, why are you living like this," Head said she would ask him.

"He was so addicted that I was helpless. His brother tried to help him; he was devastated … it was very hard on my family."