Labrador's tainted drug supply and overdoses aren't getting enough attention, warn advocates

A Labrador mental health and addictions advocate says a police warning this week about fentanyl being mixed with other illicit drugs in the province isn't a surprise, as it's been clearly happening in Labrador City and Wabush.

In Labrador West, recovering drug user Keith Fitzpatricksayspeople have been acting differently than expected on specific drugs for the past year. It was only a matter of time before the Canada-wide problem of drugs being laced with fentanylbegan affecting Labrador, he said.

"It's been ongoing for at least a year locally that the drugs are more tainted than it used to be," Fitzpatrick said. "And all of a sudden they're dying."

On Wednesday, the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary issued a warning that there has been an increase in deaths and overdosesin people using cocaine cut withfentanyl.

To help prevent overdoses, Fitzpatrick said, there needs to be more places to pick up naloxone kits and safe supplies for drug users.Naloxone is a synthetic drug that blocks opiate receptors in the brain to stop an overdose.

Fitzpatrick said naloxoneuse needs to be a regular part of first aid trainingbecause people don't always know who is using illicit drugs.

"It's not discussed. It's still a dirty little secret," Fitzpatrick said. "More availability equals more lives probably saved."

Women's council hopes to improve access to safe drug supplies

Naloxone kits and safe-supply kits can be picked up at a number of places throughout Labrador, including community clinics in some smaller communities.

In a statement to CBC News, Newfoundland and Labrador's Department of Health said kits are available across the Labrador-Grenfell Health region. The province is also exploring the option of home-based withdrawal management services, and cited the mental health and addictions program inLabrador as a key resource for addictions recovery support.

The Labrador West Status of WomenCouncil is working to have safe supplykitsin their offices.

Executive director Zonya Crewe said having aplace to access them that's more informal than, for example, a hospital, can encourage people to use them.

"Illicit drug use is a huge problem in our community," Crewe said. "Trying to keep this in the dark is not working. I feel like we need to be open about it and that people know options are available locally."

People are fearful of being judged or reprimanded, Crewe said, but showing empathy and compassion when someone is accessing safe supplies can open up other doors and lead to people seeking recovery.

"We have a powerful recovery community in our community, and a lot of people may not know about that. But we are here, we do exist, and we can be easily found," Crewe said.

Fitzpatrick said there also needs to be a detox centre in Labrador and more treatment beds in the province. He's not against increasing safe-supply kits, he said, but they need to come with detox and recovery support.

"Every time you dance with addictions and dance with drugs, especially tainted as it is now, you're risking your life," he said.

"I just worry that if we make safe supply legal and available and then we're not funding the beds to help people who actually want to quit, are we doing more harm than help?"

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