Regina needs a safe consumption site: head of PHR

After four overdose deaths in less than 12 hours on Monday, the head of Saskatchewan’s only supervised consumption site once again says Regina needs one of its own.

“Whether that’s with an organization or people opening up tents in parks, at this point they need something because what they’ve got is nothing,” said Jason Mercredi, executive director of Prairie Harm Reduction.

A supervised consumption site is a place drug users can go to take their drugs while trained professionals stand by, ready to jump in and help in case there’s an emergency like an overdose.

Mercredi said with the number of overdose deaths in Regina and what he sees as little action on the part of the government, someone needs to step up.

“The lack of action that we’re seeing is not good and it’s not just Regina, it’s across this province,” said Mercredi.

Overdose deaths have jumped across Saskatchewan this year, but Regina has been hit particularly hard.

At the end of October, the provincial coroner’s office said there had been 296 confirmed or suspected drug toxicity deaths so far in 2020 — 175 more overdose deaths than there were in all of 2019.

Of those confirmed deaths at the end of October, 58 were in Regina and 24 in Saskatoon.

— With files from 650 CKOM’s Brady Lang