SaferSites.ca, Winnipeg, MB (2025)

08/30/2025

Drug Alert: Winnipeg, North End — Fri. August 29, 2025

A North End community organization responded to 3 overdoses in the span of 1 hour. People were found unresponsive. One needed 7 vials of naloxone and multiple rounds of CPR to revive.

Get printable handbills and a poster at our website (link in bio)
http://www.safersites.ca/20250829winnipeg

Facebook is starting to censor our drug alerts! Visit https://www.safersites.ca/join to receive drug alerts in your email inbox.

If you are using substances, please:
* Use with a friend and stagger your use
* Start low and go slow
* Have and know how to use naloxone

If you are using alone, consider calling a friend or the NORS line at 1-888-688-NORS so they can spot you.

Get your drugs checked:
Nine Circles, Tu/W/Th, 10am-4pm, parking lot door of 705 Broadway Ave
Street Connections, M/W/F, 8:30am-3:30pm, 496 Hargrave St
— Anonymous fee-based mail-in service
NOTE: FTIR testing is temporarily not available at the Mobile Overdose Prevention Site (MOPS)

If you are experiencing grief from losing loved ones to drug toxicity, please know you are not alone. If you need to talk to someone, please call the crisis line at Klinic: 204-786-8686 or toll free 1-888-322-3019

07/31/2025

Drug Alert: Winnipeg — Wed. July 30, 2025

Reports of a substance sold as DOWN that is fluorescent green and light pink, causing people to overdose from a minuscule amount (“a speck” is causing overdose).

Suspected to be related to 19 emergency calls requiring administration of naloxone over a 24-hour period on July 29.

Get printable handbills and a poster at our website (link in bio)
http://www.safersites.ca/20250730winnipeg

Facebook is starting to censor our drug alerts! Visit https://www.safersites.ca/join to receive drug alerts in your email inbox.

If you are using substances, please:
* Use with a friend and stagger your use
* Start low and go slow
* Have and know how to use naloxone

If you are using alone, consider calling a friend or the NORS line at 1-888-688-NORS so they can spot you.

Get your drugs checked:
Nine Circles, Tu/W/Th, 10am-4pm, parking lot door of 705 Broadway Ave
Street Connections, M/W/F, 8:30am-3:30pm, 496 Hargrave St
— Anonymous fee-based mail-in service
NOTE: FTIR testing is temporarily not available at the Mobile Overdose Prevention Site (MOPS)

If you are experiencing grief from losing loved ones to drug toxicity, please know you are not alone. If you need to talk to someone, please call the crisis line at Klinic: 204-786-8686 or toll free 1-888-322-3019

07/21/2025

Illicit drugs are unregulated, so there’s no guarantee that a consumer is actually getting what they intended to buy.

Pandemic border closures disrupted illicit drug supply routes, making the drugs available even less consistent and riskier than before.

Harm reduction advocates are calling for a safe supply of drugs to be made available so people can be certain that substances have not been adulterated with stronger additives such as highly potent synthetic opioids, including illegally manufactured fentanyl.
Main Street Project currently operates a safe supply program in Winnipeg.

The Community-Supported Opioid Access program launched in late 2023, and the first two participants were introduced to it in early 2024.

The program is rooted in relationships and focused on holistic wraparound supports. The program is small, but the plan is to grow it carefully and bring this life-saving support to more folks who could benefit from it.

With help from Substance Consulting and led by a group of dedicated and passionate Peers, harm reduction specialists, a prescribing doctor, and an on-site nurse, the Community-Supported Opioid Access team runs this program as a small pilot to ensure it’s rolled out in the best way possible.

The Community-Supported Opioid Access program highlights what transformative health care can look like and will save lives.

07/20/2025

Drug Alert: Winnipeg — Sat. July 19, 2025

Substance sold as PINK DOWN connected to five overdoses. Tested positive for para-fluorofentanyl, on FTIR machine.

FTIR results showed caffeine, xylitol (an artifical sweetener) and 16% para-fluorofentanyl, a synthetic opioid. This is an unusually high reading for a synthetic opioid.

Get printable handbills and a poster at our website:
http://www.safersites.ca/20250719winnipeg

Facebook is starting to censor our drug alerts! Visit https://www.safersites.ca/join to receive drug alerts in your email inbox.

If you are using substances, please:
* Use with a friend and stagger your use
* Start low and go slow
* Have and know how to use naloxone

If you are using alone, consider calling a friend or the NORS line at 1-888-688-NORS so they can spot you.

Get your drugs checked:
Nine Circles, Tu/W/Th, 10am-4pm, parking lot door of 705 Broadway Ave
Street Connections, M/W/F, 8:30am-3:30pm, 496 Hargrave St
— Anonymous fee-based mail-in service
NOTE: FTIR testing is temporarily not available at the Mobile Overdose Prevention Site (MOPS)

If you are experiencing grief from losing loved ones to drug toxicity, please know you are not alone. If you need to talk to someone, please call the crisis line at Klinic: 204-786-8686 or toll free 1-888-322-3019

07/14/2025

What do People Who Use Drugs want in a Supervised Consumption Site?

People who use drugs in Winnipeg were surveyed about a potential supervised consumption site (SCS)

Respondents who said they would be interested in using an SCS said that they’d be more comfortable using a space if someone who uses drugs (a Peer) greeted them at the door.

Survey respondents said that being indoors, being around familiar people, and using new or sterile tools is what helps people to feel safe.

People said they hoped a supervised consumption site would be:
-a space where they could be monitored for safety
-a clean, community space with an upbeat atmosphere
-a space that gave access to resources, ceremony and elders
-a space where where staff have a better understanding of people who use drugs.

This post is part of a series talking about harm reduction — what it is and why we do it. Follow to see upcoming posts, and like, comment and share to spread the word!

07/10/2025

What are Supervised Consumption Sites?

A Supervised Consumption Site (SCS) is a place where people can use drugs in a supervised and hygienic environment to reduce the harm from substance use while offering additional services such as counselling, social work, and substance use treatment referrals.

In Canada, the term Supervised Consumption Site is typically reserved for sites that Health Canada has exempted under section 56.1 of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.

This allows for drugs to be consumed on the site without the fear of arrest or prosecution. Consumption sites may also be called supervised injection facilities, safer consumption spaces, and overdose prevention sites.

Supervised consumption sites are healthcare facilities that provide care to marginalized people who often do not access healthcare in a more formal setting because of the stigma and discrimination they face.

In addition to the life-saving services of drug checking and immediate overdose response under the care of an allied health team, several other healthcare services may also be present at these sites.

Additional healthcare services at SCS can include:
—Primary healthcare services
—Rapid Access to Addiction Medicine (RAAM) Clinic
—Mental health support workers who specialize in addiction and treatment and trauma
—STBBI testing and treatment
—Wound care
—Connection to other community resources

SCS have been extensively studied over the last 40 years. This research has shown that SCS do not increase drug use or drug trafficking.

Studies show that SCS are �associated with:
—reducing death from overdose/�drug poisonings
—reducing needle sharing, which in turn reduces the spread of infections like HIV and Hep C
—an increase in safer injection practices, such as not sharing needles and using new/sterile equipment
—reducing levels of public drug consumption/injections,
—a decrease in public intoxication
—a decrease in discarded syringes from public spaces

Ultimately, SCS are a cost saving measure. They reduce demand on emergency services attending to drug poisonings/overdoses. They also prevent new HIV infections and the lifetime healthcare costs of HIV treatment.

07/07/2025

What Are Overdose Prevention Sites?

An Overdose Prevention Site (OPS) is a place where people can use their own illicit drugs, access sterile harm reduction equipment, and receive emergency overdose response as needed.

OPS tend to be more basic in terms of size, capacity, and resources. These sites can be mobile in nature or even consist of a quick pop-up tent.

OPS often precede safer consumption sites (SCS) due to the immediate need for harm reduction services and the sluggish bureaucracy associated with SCS applications.

In Winnipeg, Sunshine House operates the city’s only overdose prevention site.

The Mobile Overdose Prevention Site (MOPS) runs out of a converted RV.

MOPS is a place where people can access information on harm reduction, get referrals and can use drugs in a safe, warm space where they are supervised by staff who are trained in overdose response.

MOPS also has an FTIR machine that can test a tiny sample of a substance to determine what’s in it.

07/04/2025

Drug Alert: Parkland Region — Thu. July 3, 2025

Substance sold as co***ne caused two overdoses. Because co***ne is a stimulant that does not cause loss of consciousness, this suggests the substance was not actually co***ne and probably contained an opioid or a sedative.

A substance sold as co***ne also caused two people to fall asleep. Co***ne has the opposite effect on most people, so that could also indicate the substance was not actually co***ne.

No testing data or photo available.

Get printable handbills and a poster at our website (link in bio)
http://www.safersites.ca/20250703parkland

Facebook is starting to censor our drug alerts! Visit https://www.safersites.ca/join to receive drug alerts in your email inbox.

If you are using substances, please:
* Use with a friend and stagger your use
* Start low and go slow
* Have and know how to use naloxone

If you are using alone, consider calling a friend or the NORS line at 1-888-688-NORS so they can spot you.

Get your drugs checked:
Mobile Overdose Prevention Site (MOPS), W/Tu/F/S/S, 12-5PM in the parking lot beside 631 Main St (Currently unavailable while the RV is in the shop)
Nine Circles, Tu/W/Th, 10am-4pm, parking lot door of 705 Broadway Ave
Street Connections, M/W/F, 8:30am-3:30pm, 496 Hargrave St
— Anonymous fee-based mail-in service

If you are experiencing grief from losing loved ones to drug toxicity, please know you are not alone. If you need to talk to someone, please call the

07/03/2025

Drug alerts are a way to inform the community when there is a particularly bad batch of drugs.

Drug alerts are shared online, as well as on posters and handbills placed where people who use drugs will see them, such as clinics and community organizations.

A drug alert will include �information like:
-location and date of the alert
-visual description of the substance
-name (what it was sold as)

The alert will include a photo, if available, and information about the substance’s effects and testing results.

Alerts might not contain ALL of this information, but as long as it contains key identifiable pieces, it can be useful for people who use substances.

Drug alerts are an effective method of communication as they can easily be shared through social media and reach the attention of people who use substances.

We all deserve to be safe when using substances!

This post is part of a series talking about harm reduction — what it is and why we do it. Follow to see upcoming posts, and like, comment and share to spread the word!

06/30/2025

Narcan (brand name) or naloxone (generic name), is a medication that is used to reverse opioid poisoning/ overdose.

It has no known negative side effects, so everyone can feel safe using it.
It can begin to take effect within 2 minutes. If a person does not respond to naxolone within 2-3 minutes, more doses can be given.

Naloxone comes in nasal spray and injection format and successfully reverses overdoses across Canada every single day.

Some important things to know about naloxone:

-It only works on opioids. It is not effective on any other substances.

-It wears off in about 20-90 minutes.

-The person may not remember what happened and may feel sick (withdrawal).

-They may also be upset with the responder who administered naloxone. It’s important to explain what happened and be supportive while keeping a safe distance.

-The person should avoid using substances immediately after receiving naloxone. The naloxone in their system will prevent them from feeling the effects of the drug anyway. It’s also possible that they could slip back into drug poisoning.

-Withdrawal symptoms will start to go away after 20-90 minutes when the naloxone wears off.

-Ideally, the person should be supervised for up to two hours, as the overdose may return.

For more information on naloxone or overdose response, please visit towardtheheart.com.

recently released a naloxone administration video, which you can find on their social media channels.

This post is part of a series talking about harm reduction — what it is and why we do it. Follow to see upcoming posts, and like, comment and share to spread the word!

06/26/2025

We are in a drug toxicity crisis where the contents of drugs are unpredictable and often unknown. A tool we can use to help avoid drug poisoning (a.k.a. overdose) is to use drug checking services.

One type of drug checking is using test strips. These are small strips of paper that can detect the presence of fentanyl in a substance. There are also test strips available for benzodiazepines, sedatives that when added to opioids like fentanyl increase the risk of a complex overdose.

Another drug checking method is through a machine called a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR). An FTIR spectrometer works by shining an infrared light on a sample and measuring how that light is reflected back.

In Winnipeg, you can have your drugs checked with an FTIR spectrometer at Street Connections, 496 Hargrave St. There is also an FTIR at the Mobile Overdose Prevention Site (MOPS), which is operated by Sunshine House out of a converted RV at various locations around central Winnipeg.

We all deserve to be safe when using substances, and having your substances checked before using them is the best way to reduce the risks for you and your loved ones.

This post is part of a series talking about harm reduction — what it is and why we do it. Follow SaferSites.ca to see upcoming posts, and like, comment and share to spread the word!

06/23/2025

Who Uses Substances?

A 2019 survey found that of people said they had used an illegal or illicit substance in their lifetimes.

This survey found that illicit drug use was most prevalent among youth ages 15-24 (more on that later). (Source: Drug and Alcohol Use Survey, Canadian Centre for Substance Use and Misuse, 2019.)

Other studies have found that 70-80% of people report using illegal substances.

At their workshops, the Manitoba Harm Reduction Network has asked hundreds of social service and health care providers about their substance use. 83% reported using an illegal or illicit substance in their lifetimes.

Illicit drugs are used in every neighbourhood and every community.
Where people have housing and access to resources, drug use is much less visible than it is in neighbourhoods where people lack those things.

A note on youth and substance use:
Youth are being impacted by the harms related to substance use, including Hepatitis C and HIV transmission, drug poisonings (overdoses) and death.

Adolescence is when we engage in the riskiest behaviour of our lives. We want to ensure that youth can access the knowledge and resources to be as safe as possible.

This post is part of a series talking about harm reduction — what it is and why we do it. Follow to see upcoming posts, and like, comment and share to spread the word!

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