Take-home drug-testing kits to be available at more locations in Sask.

Saskatchewan is taking another step to combat the overdose epidemic in the province.

The provincial government is expanding access to fentanyl and benzodiazepine drug-checking strips, adding more locations where the take-home test strips will be available.

A list of locations can be found here.

“The tragedy of overdose and toxic street drug deaths continue to be a heavy burden on our communities,” Everett Hindley, Saskatchewan’s mental health and addictions minister, said in a media release. “Our government remains committed to expanding addictions services, and providing widespread access to drug-checking strips is one way to save lives.”

According to the government, of the 149 confirmed accidental drug toxicity deaths in Saskatchewan in 2021, 108 involved fentanyl. People who use drugs often don’t know if they contain fentanyl since it can’t be seen, smelled or tasted.

A negative result on a test strip doesn’t mean the drug is safe, nor do the strips detect other drugs or show the amount of fentanyl or benzos present. They only determine if certain fentanyl or benzos compounds are present in the portion of the drugs tested.

“We are grateful anytime we see the adoption of evidence-based harm reduction measures on a large scale,” said Marie Agioritis, the provincial lead of Mom’s Stop the Harm Canada.

“It gives me hope that someone else’s mother could be spared the pain of burying a child. These test strips will save lives. Let’s get them into the hands of people who need them.”

Naloxone kits also are available throughout the province to reverse the effects of an overdose. More information on those kits can be found here.