by: zak vescera
saskatchewan doctors are putting their collective weight behind calls for the provincial government to fund supervised drug consumption services.
delegates to the saskatchewan medical association’s representative spring assembly passed a motion calling on the province to fund such locations 24/7 to curb record high overdose deaths.
saskatoon family physician dr. carla holinaty, who brought the motion forward, said such sites are proven to reduce the risk of a fatal overdose and can eventually be a “doorway” to other services geared toward reducing or ending drug use.
“would it be ideal if we could magically snap our fingers and nobody was ever using or overdosing again? sure, it’s just maybe not realistic,” holinaty said.
saskatchewan’s government has twice rejected proposals to fund the province’s only permanent safe drug consumption site in saskatoon. government officials have repeatedly said they prefer to spend money on broader services geared toward ending drug use, such as recovery beds or detoxification services, rather than give prairie harm reduction the $1.3 million it sought to operate the site 24/7.
the non-profit launched a fundraising drive that brought in more than $180,000 in recent months from private businesses and donors.