Experts call for stronger Sask. services to meet complex needs of opioid users

The opioid crisis is showing no signs of slowing down. Now, addictions experts are calling for detox, treatment and recovery services in Saskatchewan to be expanded and strengthened in order to meet the complex needs of those addicted to drugs like fentanyl. 

According to the provincial coroners service, there were 204 confirmed and 217 suspected drug deaths in the province in 2022. That's a total of 421 deaths compared to 401 in 2021.

Fentanyl is the drug that killed the most people, having been identified in 127 cases.

New preliminary data shows there have been already been 199 suspected drug deaths and 92 confirmed drug deaths in Saskatchewan between Jan. 1 and Aug. 1 of this year. Fifty-eight of those are determined to be fentanyl. That means 2023 is well on its way to being a record year for drug deaths. 

Fentanyl is one of the drugs that Chantel Huel found herself taking when she was struggling with addiction more than five years ago. For Huel, it all started with an OxyContin prescription.

"One pill and I fell in love and I was hooked. That led me down a path that I never thought possible for myself. It led me in and out of jails. It led me to the street criminal lifestyle. It led me to gangs. It led me to dealing drugs, destroying communities," said Huel.

As the years went by, Huel wanted to get sober.

"I would go to detox because it was my last option before this, right? Or I would go to treatment because it was my last option before that," Huel said. 

"But I came out to the same people, places and things, and I would go right back to what I was doing before. I would live one foot in the good life, one foot in the negative life, hoping to walk the fine line and balance it. But it never worked."

Often when she wanted to detox, Huel had to wait for a spot to open up for her in a facility. But waiting is very difficult for those who are in a cycle of using. 

"By the time it's my turn to get into that detox centre, I'm too high to even care. I don't want to go anymore."

And then, finally, the day came when Huel made the decision to get sober for good. She was once again in a correctional facility, but wasn't alone. Her daughter was incarcerated there with her. Enough was enough.

Huel said that because she was federally charged, she had access to extensive treatment, counselling and guidance from elders. She said there should be a clear path from detox to wrap-around support like that in Saskatchewan communities. 

"I should not have had to have been incarcerated to access those services 24/7. Why are we not providing these services for people out here who want it?"