Prairie Harm Reduction warns of potential bad drug batch circulating Saskatoon
Organization recommends testing drugs before use and carrying naloxone
Saskatoon's Prairie Harm Reduction (PHR) is raising the alarm about what it says is a bad batch of drugs in the city.
On Saturday afternoon, PHR posted to social media warning people of a higher than usual amount of overdoses.
"We put out the notice just to make people aware that there is a bad batch," said PHR executive director, Kayla DeMong.
"I don't have final numbers or know what it was, but it was a concerningly high amount of overdoses and not something that is something that we normally see in a one-night situation."
DeMong said PHR reached out to several other organizations and found out that emergency services in the city were seeing an uptick in overdoses on Friday.
Saskatoon Police Service and Saskatoon Paramedic Association were not able to immediately comment.
DeMong is hoping PHR can get a sample and test whatever the substance is. She also advised people to get some naloxone, which can reverse an overdose.
"Make sure that you're not alone, make sure that you know where your substances are coming from, [and] if you don't, try and get a hold of some testing strips for fentanyl or benzodiazepines," she added. Those testing strips are available at PHR.
A full list of locations to find naloxone kits can be found on the Saskatchewan Government's website.
Saskatchewan government statistics indicate that 334 people died of confirmed or suspected drug deaths in the first 11 months of 2024, down 24 per cent from 2023. The majority of those cases are linked to fentanyl or related opioids.