A research assistant working on an opioid study at the University of Saskatchewan acknowledges that their suggestion of providing a one stop shop for supervised consumption of illicit drugs will be one of the biggest hurdles to face in trying to implement recommendations from the study.

James Dixon worked on the Consolidating Perspectives on Saskatoon’s Evolving Opioid Crisis research project and says one piece of information that came strongly out of their research was the increase in pain whether it is physical pain, mental or emotional pain, there is so much desire for people to turn to opioids or other drugs to numb that pain.

“Well, it’s not just pockets, or certain populations of people, it’s all across the board. It’s young people who are using recreationally, it’s people who are working professionals, they are functioning day-to-day but with a substance use disorder. People who are homeless and living on the streets, it is affecting everybody.”

Dixon says Fentanyl is here and is an issue in Saskatoon with a corresponding increasing number of deaths but what they are hearing is that it is poly-substance abuse where people are seeking out more than one drug. And he says Saskatchewan residents have to also recognize there is a huge issue with Crystal Methamphetamine.

The study recommends in addition to the supervised consumption, better coordination of existing services and also points out that with so many citing escape from pain as being their motivator for opioid use, there is no pain management clinic in the city to help reduce physician reliance on opioid prescriptions.

The study started in January 2018 and spoke to local front line workers and care providers who directly worth with people who use drugs. They conducted 21 interviews with 24 people who are key contact points for patients as well as health system managers and policy makers both at the municipal and provincial level.