!['Continued resistance': Saskatchewan government won't fund supervised consumption](https://www.ctvnews.ca/content/dam/ctvnews/en/images/2020/9/30/prairie-harm-reduction-saskatoon-1-5127318-1698416015429.jpg)
'Continued resistance': Saskatchewan government won't fund supervised consumption
CTV
The Saskatchewan Party government has made it clear it won't fund supervised drug consumption services, a move one researcher says is not based on evidence.
The Saskatchewan Party government has made it clear it won't fund supervised drug consumption services, a move one researcher says is not based on evidence.
The province pledged in its throne speech this week it won't allow illegal drugs to be supplied through hospitals or public clinics.
And Tim McLeod, who is minister of mental health and addictions, suggested Thursday that supervised consumption services don't solve addictions.
"If you're using illicit and potentially lethal drugs, you're not on the path to recovery," McLeod told reporters. "We want to provide people with the supports that they need to be on the path to recovery."
Barb Fornssler, a professor at the University of Saskatchewan, said she's disappointed the province won't consider funding supervised consumption.
She said it's part of broader harm reduction strategies that can prevent people from dying or contracting viruses, like HIV.
"The way we can get ahead of that is through harm reduction medical practices that are well established and evidence-based," Fornssler said in an interview.