THUNDER BAY — An alert has been issued to the community about contaminated drugs after several overdoses occurred at a local overdose prevention service.
According to a social media post by NorWest Community Health Centres, there were three cases on Monday at its Path525 safe injection site.
All three people were okay after receiving help from centre staff.
A message under the headline "OD warning - Thunder Bay" stated that one client was using a stimulant thought to be only crack cocaine, but after the individual had an adverse reaction, it also tested positive for fentanyl.
"We were glad the person decided to use our safe consumption site, and we're really thankful that they're safe," Keesha Bauer, consumption and treatment services coordinator for NorWest Community Health Centres, told TBnewswatch in an interview Tuesday.
The other two overdoses involved a powdery substance that was yellow and another powder that was pink/red in colour, a form commonly known as "down."
In both those cases, the clients knew they taking fentanyl but weren't expecting a high enough concentration to cause an adverse reaction.
Bauer said when overdoses occur at the safe consumption site, it's not always necessary to administer naloxone,because staff are right there and can often respond with oxygen and breathing coaching.
She said having three cases in one day pointed to a situation that needed to be brought to the attention of others who might be using the same drug supply.
"It definitely does flag concern for us that locally there could just be a lot of cross-contamination potentially, or just some really strong and toxic supply out there. That's why the alert was so important to get out."
NorWest continues to emphasize the importance of getting drugs tested at its safe consumption site, and the importance of using the Lifeguard app that was launched in Thunder Bay in 2021.
"We always encourage folks if they aren't able to access the safe consumption site to not use alone. They should definitely be using the Lifeguard app. It has saved many lives," Bauer said. "It also has a lot of supports on there for services to access within Northwestern Ontario."
Elsewhere in the region, OPP recently reported the third death in 30 days from suspected drug overdoses in the District of Rainy River.
NorWest recently created a drug library that includes all substances that have been tested locally, and has important information pertaining to them.
This is also being used to create short informational videos for its social media page to educate clients and other community members on what's showing up in the drug supply in the Thunder Bay area.
Bauer noted that so far, out of 383 drug samples checked in in its testing device since October 2022, less than 19 per cent have produced the expected results with only the presumed substance.
"Which is pretty eye-opening," she said. "So we're encouraging folks to come and use our drug-testing service."
The service is confidential and available during hours of operating at the safe consumption site, seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Thursdays from 6 to 8 p.m..
