Pubdate: Fri, 18 Nov 2016
Source: Moose Jaw Times-Herald (CN SN)
Copyright: 2016 The Moose Jaw Times-Herald Group Inc.
Contact:  http://www.mjtimes.sk.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2154
Author: William Stodalka

FENTANYL, METH USE RISING

Police are seeing more fentanyl and crystal meth cases in the city and
some locals have overdosed on fentanyl, they say.

"Prior to, you know, within the last year, 2016, fentanyl really
didn't exist here," said Moose Jaw Police Deputy Chief Cliff Froehlich.

Moose Jaw is now facing the national problem of increased opiate
addiction.

On Wednesday, Moose Jaw Police Deputy Chief Cliff Froehlich spoke at
the Moose Jaw South Central Drug Strategy luncheon.

Two of the most problematic drugs for local police are crystal meth
and fentanyl.

Fentanyl is a synthetic drug used to treat pain for terminally ill
people. The types of drugs on the street are not the kind prescribed
by doctors, however.

"This is processed from generally out of country, individuals or
groups. The drug is then imported into the country and smuggled into
the country," said Froehlich. "The proportion of drugs in those tables
are disproportionate in each tablet, it's not regulated."

Chad Topp, program manager for the Wakamow Detox Centre, said that
over 2016, opiate availability has increased locally.

"We're seeing a lot of opiate use (including fentanyl)," he said.
"It's a scary situation because people are not just testing out what
type of drugs that are out there. They're using the hard-core drugs
that are very hard to get away from. It's a very important type of
drug that could cause death."

Across Canada, people have overdosed on the drug, sometimes fatally.
In 20142015, there were about 4,800 hospitalizations due to opioid
poisoning in Canada, according to a report released Wednesday by the
Canadian Institute for Health Information. This is up from just over
3,000 in 2007-2008.

Five Hills Health Region said that they did not have one readily
available source of in-

formation for local overdoses specifically related to fentanyl
Thursday.

Another drug problem that Moose Jaw is experiencing is crystal meth
addiction.

Topp estimates that of the people who come in seeking his help, from
here or across the province, there is a 50/50 split between crystal
meth and opiates such as hydromorphine. Fentanyl is an opiate.

Topp admitted that may be a "naive number," as it could be higher on
the crystal meth side.

"When you see crystal meth, it's a lot more available. It's a lot
cheaper," he said. "When you look at a expense, people are able to get
those drugs a little bit easier because it is the choice of addiction
from the community. If it's there, it's going to be used. "

Normally last year, crack cocaine use could have been higher around
this time of year, but a potential jump in the price of crack cocaine
has meant people are switching to cheaper, harder drugs, Topp explained.

Regardless, these people's addictions have an impact on the
community.

The increase in fentanyl and crystal meth use may lead to an increase
in other types of crimes, Froehlich said.

This may have contributed to an increase in other types of crimes,
Froehlich added. He said during the meeting that they have seen a
spike since early spring in crime numbers.

"Our numbers are exaggerated this summer here," he said. "We've got
some explaining to do."

A policing strategy change police attempted last spring "didn't quite
work the way we wanted," he said.

"We had to make some changes, those small steps, and come up with a
new strategy to address that," Froehlich explained "We have to hit it
harder than what we've done in the past."

Part of the difficulty is the changing nature of the drug trade in
Moose Jaw, as the dealers have become more transient.

"Say 10 or 15 years ago, we'd intelligence or information about
someone who's dealing illegal drugs and it would be a local resident
and we would deal with that process," said Froehlich. "What we know
now is, it's changed somewhat. We'll have a group of people or an
individual come into the city for a short time, they'll have their
contacts here, and they'll do their drug dealing for a short time and
move on."

Police must now shift their strategies to deal with these new types of
dealers.

Fentanyl is not the only drug on Moose Jaw streets. Another
problematic drug is crystal meth.

For Topp, education alone about the dangers of drugs is not enough.
Topp would like to see an increase the availability of safe, sober
housing for people who are battling addictions.

"A lot of the times they (people seeking to become safer) have to go
back to where they were living before," he said. "If they're within
our health region we can afford and refer them onto Riverside Mission
(homeless shelter) for safe shelter. Other than that, for sober
living, there's none in our community."

This new type of housing is important for people who enter detox,
since they want to start over.

"They want to leave their past in the past and to prevent somebody
from moving back into their home community, a codependent relationship
that is not going to help them in recovery."

Topp would also like to see more outreach done.

"We need to have people on the ground working," he said. "We need to
have more of a presence around these addicts, such as outreach terms …
and giving people supports and talk to them, and say, 'How can you
fight your addiction?'"
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MAP posted-by: Matt