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‘Drug users not criminals, dealers are,’ mayor says after four local deaths

City, hospital pushing for better withdrawal management facility
20161202 Mayor Christian Provenzano Silhouette KA
Mayor Christian Provenzano seen in his office in the Civic Centre. Kenneth Armstrong/Village Media

After Sault Police reported Thursday they are experiencing an increase in the number of calls for service regarding possible drug overdoses, and investigating four suspected opioid overdose deaths in four days, Sault Mayor Christian Provenzano has told SooToday “I think we’re doing everything we can at the municipal level.”

“We’re not funded for this, so what we’re doing is working really hard with our community partners.”

“We’re focused on two things. Making sure the agencies in our community that support people with mental health and addictions issues have the support they need, and that they have the infrastructure available.”

On that note, Provenzano said “one of the things we really need to see happen is Sault Area Hospital (SAH) get the approval and funding for a Level III (Withdrawal Management Services facility).”

A new 33-bed Level III Withdrawal Management Services facility, described by SAH officials as a 'co-locating' of existing and potential new mental health and addictions services, would be a replacement for the existing 16 bed SAH detoxification centre located at 911 Queen St. E.

SAH is requesting $11 million for construction of the facility, with an additional, ongoing request for $5.8 million for operational expenses (on top of the current $1.1 million it receives for the existing detox centre).

The Level III Withdrawal Management Services facility, if and when it is built, would be the fourth such centre in Ontario.

Level I and II withdrawal management involves a supportive environment such as residential withdrawal, whereas Level III also involves medical withdrawal management.

“We’re quite a way into that now. All the material that needed to be submitted has been submitted and we really need to see the provincial government move on that,” Provenzano said.

A valuable new service for those battling substance abuse, known as the Rapid Access Addiction Medicine (RAAM) Clinic, opened in April, located at SAH’s existing Addictions Treatment Clinic location at 123 East St.

“The RAAM model is designed to initiate therapy for opioid or alcohol addiction and then triage clients to the most appropriate ongoing care provider. It is not intended to replace or duplicate the care provided by a primary care provider or a treatment clinic,” SAH stated.

The clinic will accept referrals from hospital emergency departments, physicians, nurse practitioners, community addictions and mental health services, social services and families, and is also open to walk-ins.

From a law enforcement standpoint, Provenzano, a member of the Sault Ste. Marie Police Services Board, said “I’m confident our police service is working on those issues (finding and arresting drug dealers).”

It has been suggested by some naloxone, an emergency medication available from pharmacies and Algoma Public Health, to bring drug users back from the brink of fatal overdose, gives some drug users a sense of ‘if I overdose, naloxone will save me,’ only encouraging those individuals to keep using drugs.

To that, Provenzano said “it’s been shown to save people’s lives, so it’s important that we make sure people who do have addictions issues have access to drugs that will assist them (in saving them from overdose).”

“We don’t want to criminalize the users. We want to criminalize and put away the people that are bringing the drugs in and making the drugs available.”


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Darren Taylor

About the Author: Darren Taylor

Darren Taylor is a news reporter and photographer in Sault Ste Marie. He regularly covers community events, political announcements and numerous board meetings. With a background in broadcast journalism, Darren has worked in the media since 1996.
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