Advocates call for greater access to safe consumption sites after drug-related death

Advocates have renewed their call for more safe injection sites in the province after a death last week that police say was a result of carfentanil.

Julie Dingwell, executive director of Avenue B Harm Reduction in Saint John, said Moncton has the only safe injection site in the province, although efforts to get one in Saint John continue.

Such sites allow drug users to bring their own drugs and have them tested to ensure they're safe. The sites are also equipped with all of the things needed if things go badly — naloxone, oxygen, staff trained in CPR and someone to call for an ambulance.

"The most important thing is that they're not using alone," she said.

Dingwell's comments come after the RCMP issued a warning over the weekend about carfentanil, an opioid significantly stronger than fentanyl. 

The warning was issued after a death Thursday in Jardineville, located between Moncton and Miramichi on the Northumberland Strait. Few details were released about the incident or the person who died.

Dingwell said carfentanil has been around New Brunswick for a while. 

"We aren't surprised that it's been found related to a death because the whole system is poisoned. People don't know what drugs they are getting."

She said lives could be saved if people were provided with a safe supply, and once saved, they could be provided with a path to recovery.

There are no safe supply programs in New Brunswick.

"Guaranteeing a safe supply means that people are in contact with the health-care provider every single day and have the opportunity to change their lives," Dingwell said.

Debby Warren, executive director of Ensemble Services in Moncton, would like to see a better understanding about safe injection sites.

"We need to change our mindsets around addictions first of all, and the way people are using substances. That's the biggest barrier."

Warren said people need to realize that supervised sites do not enable addictions. They save lives by testing for toxins, she said, and ensuring that if there is an overdose, users are surrounded by people who are trained to help them.

"We really need to start advocating for a safe supply, address the social determinants of health and just work collectively. We all have a role to play."

For those who do not have easy access to supervised consumption sites, Warren and Dingwell both advise people to never consume drugs alone and to test the drugs in small quantities.