Seventy-four people are suspected to have died after consuming drugs in the first 60 days of 2024, according to the latest update from the Saskatchewan Coroners Service.

Almost all the deaths, 69, reported in January and February are listed as suspected overdoses so the numbers could change once the cases are concluded. Five are confirmed.

The high death toll is grim but not surprising, said Kayla DeMong, the executive director of Prairie Harm Reduction (PHR) in Saskatoon. She said the province's approach to drug use isn't helping prevent the numbers from rising.

"There is no hope for recovery if people are dead before they get there," DeMong said.

PHR works with people who use substances by offering outreach, educational services and sterile equipment. It also runs a drop-in centre and a supervised consumption site. The drug consumption site is not funded by the provincial government.

DeMong said frontline workers are seeing a steady increase in the number of people involved with substances. At PHR, she said workers have documented close to 200 new clients in the last few months alone — on top of the hundreds they already help.

The provincial numbers of overdose deaths have been trending upward since 2020, when the numbers nearly doubled from 180 deaths in 2019 to 325 in 2020. In 2022, there were 367 people suspected to have died because of drug toxicity and in 2023 there were 476, according to the report.

DeMong expects the number of deaths and other complications related to drug use will continue to worsen in the coming months.

"We can't expect things to be different if nothing different is done."

In January, the provincial government announced it was "realigning" how its health-care system addressed drug use.

Officials decided to reduce harm reduction initiatives and focus on treatment beds. The province stopped providing sterile pipes for drug use and educational materials on how to safely use drugs. It also said people wouldn't be allowed to get sterile needles at exchanges unless they provide used needles in return.

Mental Health and Addictions Minister Tim McLeod said in January that these initiatives had sent the "wrong message" to people.

"Instead, the message coming from the health-care system should be that there is hope for recovery, and there is help available through treatment," he said, adding the system should "strike a balance with public safety priorities" and people who aren't ready for recovery.

DeMong said the underfunding or scaling back of harm reduction initiatives sends a message that the lives of people who depend on those services aren't worth the investment.

"I recognize the need for treatment and fully support people to go to treatment, but the reality is that while people are using, they deserve access to proper support and part of that support is helping ensure that they stay alive," she said.

"These are human beings and they deserve all of the support to stay alive so that they can see that people care about them and know that they are worth the investment."

She also echoed other health-care experts and frontline works when she said rising overdoses aren't the only concern about the government's approach to drug use, particularly when it comes to the recent decision to limit who can access sterile needles or pipes.

"We are going to see huge rises in HIV and hepatitis C transmission … and other infections that will result in increased health-care costs," DeMong said, noting Saskatchewan already leads the nation when it comes to these health complications.

In January, the province said it would create a central intake system to make addictions treatment more accessible to people and begin operating community wellness buses. These initiatives are still in the process of being developed.

The government also committed in 2023 to add at least 500 more addictions treatment spaces to the publicly funded health-care system. To date, 183 of those spaces have been announced. A procurement process to secure 250 more began in December, according to a spokesperson for the Health Ministry.

DeMong said that to tackle the drug crisis immediately, harm reduction initiatives should be supported. However, she added that the majority of people who access services through PHR are facing homelessness or living with complex health needs. She said one key factor in stabilizing the overdose crisis is ensuring stable housing for people.

"There is no hope for any change if we don't have the opportunity to put housing first," DeMong said. "Housing is a key component in the stabilization of people's lives."