An advocate at a supervised consumption site in Montreal is worried about the growing number of people using the services.
Cactus Montreal is seeing an average of six to eight overdoses a day – the highest number ever recorded.
It’s all happening against the backdrop of an ongoing opioid crisis in Quebec.
Alex Berthelot, the director of community services at Cactus, says something must change.
“When we first opened this site in 2017, we saw one or two overdoses a month. So, to be six to eight a day, it’s a very alarming rate,” Berthelot told CityNews.
Cactus Montreal is one of four supervised consumption sites in the city. It’s open seven days a week from 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. and receives around 70 people a day.
Berthelot says people are using substances without knowing what’s in them. Cactus’ drug testing service has revealed the drugs often contain between five to 50 per cent fentanyl.
Opioid overdoses are on the rise, with data from Urgences-santé showing paramedics have administered naloxone 326 times in 2023 – a 12 per cent increase from 2022.
Naloxone temporarily reverses an opioid overdose. Quebec has made naloxone kits available free of charge at pharmacies.