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The Saskatchewan Ministry of Health has issued an alert for Saskatoon after the city saw 104 overdoses within a single week, including two deaths on Monday.
The Saskatoon Fire Department reported a sharp rise in overdoses between November 11 and Tuesday. In several cases, reviving the patients required multiple doses of naloxone, a nasal spray used to reverse the effects of opioid overdoses. But with naloxone only countering opioid symptoms and not those of other substances, the intervention wasn’t always effective.
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Some people needed resuscitation and hospitalization, the ministry noted.
In the alert, the ministry warned that “dangerous drugs are in the area,” and said the risk of overdose or death is “high” for drug users.
The ministry said the drugs behind the rash of overdoses may contain “opioids and other unknown substances,” though it is not known how the drugs are sold.
The alert is to remain in effect until Wednesday.
Previous 2025 alerts
This latest alert is one of several that have been issued in the Bridge City this year.
The ministry issued an overdose risk alert at the end of September after fentanyl and benzodiazepines (benzos) were found in a test sample. In that instance, the drugs were being sold as fentanyl and were pink, purple, and brown in colour, in the form of chunks or rocks.
Earlier in September, the ministry issued a warning about dangerous drugs in the Saskatoon area after fentanyl, xylazine and benzos were found in a test sample of drugs sold as fentanyl. Those drugs were tested at Prairie Harm Reduction, Saskatoon’s supervised consumption site.
The ministry said the drugs looked like green/brown flakes and said anyone using the suspect drugs was at risk of experiencing symptoms including severe sleepiness, resulting in shallow breathing or even death.
Prior to that, the Saskatchewan Health Authority issued an alert at the end of August after firefighters responded to 84 overdoses between August 17 and August 26.
Similar to the current alert, hospitalization and multiple doses of Naloxone were required to revive patients. It wasn’t known what the dangerous drugs were being sold as, but the health authority said in one case it appeared as green/blue crystals and potentially contained carfentanyl and fentanyl.
In its latest alert, the Ministry of Health reminded the public about The Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act, which it said “protects individuals who seek emergency help during an overdose or who witness an overdose.”
