Free naloxone nasal spray needed to deal with Sask. overdose spike, say front-line groups

Bonnie Allen · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 27, 2025 7:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

An alarming spike successful overdoses successful Saskatoon has immoderate front-line workers calling connected the Saskatchewan authorities to grow its Take Home Naloxone programme to see the much user-friendly nasal spray, not conscionable injection kits.

Free naloxone nasal spray is offered successful Ontario, Quebec, the Yukon and Northwest Territories. Unlike the much invasive injectable version, the overdose-reversing medicine is sprayed straight into the nose.

"Some radical conscionable are not going to consciousness comfy utilizing the needles and if that is thing that stops idiosyncratic from utilizing naloxone, oregon carrying naloxone, past that's a obstruction that we should get escaped of," Sarah Kozusko, pharmacy manager astatine Queen City Wellness successful Regina, said.

Her pharmacy is 1 of the astir 300 locations successful the province — including wellness clinics, definite pharmacies and assemblage based organizations — wherever radical tin prime up escaped injectable naloxone. Kozusko said she believes the deficiency of publicly-funded nasal spray is preventing much radical from carrying the life-saving medication.

A take-home nasal kit with 2 nasal sprays costs around $72, whereas the injection kit with 2 needles that's covered by the state retails astir $50.

'We haven't made a decision'

On Wednesday afternoon, the province's curate of intelligence wellness and addictions said the state is considering the request.

"We're looking astatine the nasal naloxone. We haven't made a determination arsenic to whether that's thing we're going to distribute, but it is thing we're looking at," Lori Carr told reporters astatine the legislature.

"It should beryllium everywhere," Kozusko said.

The pharmacist is often called upon to administer aggregate doses of naloxone to radical experiencing cause poisoning successful the vicinity of her store. She usually starts with a speedy changeable of nasal spray, calls 911, past moves connected to injections. In her idiosyncratic time, she prefers to transportation the smaller, much convenient nasal spray.

"It's similar these small tiny things that I tin conscionable truthful easy propulsion into similar a purse oregon fanny pack," she said. "It is not stronger, but it is easier to use."

She besides appreciates that she doesn't person to interest astir disposing of a needle.

Calls for nasal spray successful Saskatoon

The Saskatoon Fire Department has responded to much than 700 overdoses this year, with an mean of 24 a time for astir of March. The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency said it's providing much supplies of naloxone successful Saskatoon, and connected Tuesday wellness officials indicated that would see a shipment of nasal naloxone spray.

Kayla DeMong from Prairie Harm Reduction (PHR) successful Saskatoon has made a nationalist plea for donations to bargain nasal spray.

"Just marque it available. Make definite it is distributed, due to the fact that it is the easiest mode to thatch radical however to respond and to person that assurance to respond," DeMong said.

'It tin beryllium scary'

PHR has sought donations from the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations and Saskatoon Tribal Council to rise thousands of dollars to bargain the kits.

Rob Kraushaar is the objective programme manager of the Regina Street Team, a radical that offers services to susceptible people.

He has nary complaints astir the proviso concatenation for escaped injection kits. He said he fills retired an bid form, past picks up cases of take-home kits from the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions. But his squad is ever searching for nasal spray. He said they rely on gifts from Indigenous supporters who person the spray for escaped nether national wellness benefits.

People connected the beforehand lines accidental astir overdoses necessitate aggregate doses of naloxone to revive the person, careless of whether it's injectable oregon nasal spray.

"If radical are reporting that 4 oregon 5 doses of the worldly is not bringing idiosyncratic backmost successful Saskatoon, if you're looking astatine you person to wage for that arsenic an organization, like, that's crazy," Kraushaar said.

He's convinced that much radical would beryllium consenting to transportation naloxone arsenic a nasal spray than needles.

"It tin beryllium scary. Like, the archetypal 30, 40, 50 overdoses that I responded to connected the thoroughfare and had to usage the injectables, your hands are shaking, you're trying to acceptable [the syringe] into this small vial… each while, successful your head, you're reasoning each 2nd is beingness oregon decease for this person," Kraushaar said.