Supervised consumption sites face funding uncertainty as overdoses spike

Ottawa's supervised consumption sites are anxiously awaiting word from the province about whether their funding will be extended past this Sunday, as they try to prevent even more deaths in the current wave of drug overdoses.

At least three people have died and at least three others needed medical treatment since Monday.

While tainted street drugs are not a surprise to those who work with drug users, they are surprised by the amount of contaimination in the crack cocaine supply.

“The last testing that we have that's reliable shows us about one in three of the samples that were submitted had fentanyl in them,” said Wendy Muckle, Executive Director, Ottawa Inner City Health. “But it looks like there was a batch that went right across the city that was probably contaminated with fentanyl.”

The time of the month may also play a factor in this current overdose spike; Muckle says while users on social assistance wait for their cheques to come in at the end of the month, many dealers will “loan” users drugs with the expectation they will pay for them when their cheque arrives.

“We always find that the quality of the drugs and the severity of the overdoses…are much worse in this period,” Muckle told Ottawa Today with Mark Sutcliffe on 1310 NEWS.

Supervised consumption site funding due to run out Sunday

Current funding for supervised consumption sites is schedule to expire March 31, but there's been no word on provincial funding past that date.

Organizations like Ottawa Inner City Health are trying to prevent even more deaths during the current overdose spike at their supervised consumption sites by monitoring users, administering Naloxone when people overdose and getting them medical attention.

“If we close our doors tomorrow, people would die; like, literally, on the sidewalks outside of our facility,” said Muckle. “I don't think that's anything anybody in this community, or this province, wants to see.”

Muckle says her conversations with the province have been positive and that the health minister has pledged their would not be a disruption in services. But the uncertainty remains over the sites' funding past this weekend.