The introduction of a safe drug supply and safe consumption site could quell the rise of opioid-related deaths in the Yukon, according to local harm-reduction experts.

“Safe supply is an important tool when we’re talking about overdose and about harm reduction,” Bronte Renwick-Shields, the executive director of the Blood Ties Four Directions Centre in Whitehorse, told the Star today.

“Access to safe supply will prevent deaths and prevent overdoses and, ultimately, we should be looking to save lives here.”

On Friday, the Yukon government announced a sharp increase in opioid-related deaths. Thirteen people have died from drug overdoses since last January, nearly double the total number of deaths in previous years.

Eight of the 13 deaths were a result of opioids and toxic amounts of fentanyl.

Fentanyl is a dangerous drug and painkiller increasingly found in illicit opioids, contributing to an overdose crisis across Canada.

Blood Ties is a harm-reduction centre for drug users in Whitehorse. The downtown centre and outreach van both offer drug testing, so users can test their drugs for toxic levels of fentanyl before using.

Blood Ties also offers a needle exchange, safer crack kits and naloxone kits – a lifesaving drug that can quickly reverse overdoses.

Renwick-Shields is encouraging Yukoners to utilize services at Blood Ties as the street supply of opioids seems to be increasingly unsafe.

“Due to different access and changes in the pandemic, we’ve seen changes in the supply,” Renwick-Shields said.

“People may be using different substances than they were in the past, or using in different ways.”

Stay-at-home orders during the pandemic may have caused more people to use drugs alone or increase their intake, Renwick-Shields said. The pandemic also may have affected the availability of some drugs.

“(People) may have different access to substances than they had before, maybe their regular supplier isn’t available so they’re accessing from someone else, but they aren’t able to access the substance they normally use so they’re using something different,” Renwick-Shields said.

People using drugs they’re unfamiliar with might also increase their risk of overdose, she explained. 

A safe supply of drugs would prevent drug users from being affected by changes in their supply. Renwick-Shields said Blood Ties is an advocate for this initiative.

“We have seen safe supply implemented in other countries, as well as in B.C.,” Renwick-Shields said. 

“(It would) give people safe, legal access to drugs they’re not criminalized for, and don’t have to fear that the drug that they are buying isn’t what they’re looking for.”

Safe supply would see drug users prescribed medically-regulated opioids. During a press conference on Friday, Health Minister Pauline Frost said her department is exploring this option.

Frost also said there is consideration of a safe consumption site, where people could use drugs with supervision.

Renwick-Shields said she is in support of all harm-reduction initiatives, but noted that drug users in the Yukon’s communities would likely not benefit from a Whitehorse-based safe consumption site.

“I think due to the spread of overdoses throughout the Yukon, and not just in Whitehorse, we need to look at safe supply,” Renwick-Shields said. 

“It’s important that it’s not just folks in Whitehorse where we have access to a safe place to use and providing safety to members of rural communities as well.”

Katharine Smart, the president of the Yukon Medical Association, told the Star this morning the increase in opioid deaths is troubling.

“(I’m) very saddened to know that this pre-existing problem is getting worse – obviously any time somebody dies from an overdose, we consider that to be something preventable,” Smart said.

“I’m not entirely surprised, because this is a trend we’ve been seeing across the country in the past few months.”

Smart said there is evidence to suggest that a safe consumption site could be life-saving for drug users in Whitehorse.

“It makes sense to have it situated where people tend to congregate,” Smart said.

“This is obviously not rehab or addictions programming in that regard, where being out of town or on the land might make sense … this is for people who are actively using substances, so it needs to be where they are.”

It’s important to consult with affected communities before making decisions on the site’s location, Smart added. 

Supporting rural drug users is a different challenge requiring solutions unique to each community.

Partnerships between First Nations governments – whose citizens have been disproportionately affected by opioid deaths – and mental health hubs will be critical to leveraging community services, Smart said.

“Those need to be bigger conversations that involve all the players, to try to come up with what works for them,” Smart said.

“I can imagine what might work in one community might not work in another.”

Reducing the stigma around drug use will also be pivotal to keeping drug users safe, Smart said.

“It’s not unique to the Yukon; I think in general there is a stigma around drug use and that is one of the risks that might drive people to use alone or not seek help,” Smart said.

“I think there’s also a lot of stigma around mental health concerns, which are drivers of addiction.”

Increasing harm-reduction services and initiating open conversations about drug use and mental health are important for quelling the crisis, Smart said.

She noted that abstaining from substances is “not a reality for everybody” and services need to be cognizant of that.

“We can meet you where you are and keep you safe, and that’s a worthwhile thing to do because you’re an important person,” Smart said.