60 naloxone kits in a month: as fentanyl scares rise, so does demand at Saskatoon pharmacy

It's becomingroutine for pharmacist Dave Morari to see about five new faces each day coming into Saskatoon's Mayfair Drugs looking for a naloxone kit.

This pharmacy in a north-central Saskatoon neighbourhood is ground zero in the opioid crisis. It's where people who use depressants such as heroin and fentanyl, and are afraid they may suffer an overdose, go to get the antidote kits.

Morari said in the past month, his staff has given out more kits than ever before as people respond to three recent suspected overdoses of cocaine cut with fentanyl in the city.

The province's Take Home Naloxone program launched in Saskatoon in 2015, and offers an unsettling glimpse into hard drug use in the province. It offers the kits to opioid users for free. The Ministry of Health says more than 500 take-home kits have been distributed, and more than 1,700 people have received the training.

Morari said the recent sense of urgency in the province does not come as a surprise.

"To be honest I think it was just a matter of time, seeing all the overdoses in the west and inevitably that was going to move out our direction. And it's a crisis in North America," he said.

Naloxone does not reverse the effects of stimulants like cocaine or benzodiazepines like Ativan, rather it works for opiates like heroine and fentanyl that slow down the breathing, Morari said.

However, Myla Wollbaum with the Pharmacy Association of Saskatchewan said naloxone is so safe that people should not hesitate to administer it, either through injection or nasal spray.

Officials say it's best to call 911 after administering the drugregardless, as professional medical help is requiredduring and after an overdose.