MOOSE JAW — Fentanyl continues to plague the Moose Jaw’s streets, as evidenced by the three overdose deaths in early June and cops continually finding the illicit substance during drug busts.
The Moose Jaw Police Service (MJPS) handled 21 total drug busts from January to June, compared to 19 such incidents during the same period last year — a 10.5-per-cent year-over-year increase — and 31 such incidents two years ago, the latest crime statistics show.
The data for 2023, 2022 and 2021 shows:
- Cocaine: 4 / 3 / 4
- Marijuana: 3 / 6 / 7
- Methamphetamine: 3 / 5 / 9
- Other CDSA drugs: 11 / 5 / 11; this is a 120-per-cent year-over-year increase
“A lot” of the other CDSA drugs that police have been encountering during their investigative projects is fentanyl, confirmed Deputy Chief Rick Johns during the recent Board of Police Commissioners’ meeting.
While this drug is still circulating in Moose Jaw, what’s encouraging is police have not had as many calls about overdoses or overdose-related deaths since putting out the alert about the tainted fentanyl on June 12, he continued.
However, police and EMS personnel don’t know about every overdose because some people are taken directly to the hospital by family or friends for treatment. Furthermore, sometimes the police service records data as “assisting ambulance” because it’s unclear what the victim’s problem is.
“Sometimes that information doesn’t come in right away,” Johns said. “Even with the three suspected fentanyl-related deaths, we will certainly have to wait for the toxicology (reports to) come back to determine with any certainty that it was, in fact, a fentanyl overdose.”
The police service works with its health region partners to monitor drug- and overdose-related trends and will continue to do so, the deputy chief added.
The presence of fentanyl in Moose Jaw concerned board chairwoman Mary Lee Booth, who said, “At no time can people rest easy. Any time illicit drugs are purchased from the street, there’s that risk that there’s something in it.”
With the alert that the MJPS issued, it’s impossible to know how many “accidents” could have or were prevented by that public service announcement, she continued. She noted that some communities offer testing strips to drug users so they can check their illicit material to ensure it’s safe and free from fentanyl and benzodiazepines.
“I believe there are (such testing strips). With fentanyl, a lot of times, the user is aware that they are taking fentanyl. They just don’t realize to what degree the potency (or purity) is because it’s so unregulated,” said Johns. “It’s not like they’re getting it from a pharmacy.”
The next police board meeting is Thursday, Aug. 10.
