Drug analyzer goes mobile in Thunder Bay, Ont., in wake of consumption site's closure

Before Justin Gill began working at NorWest Community Health Centres (NWCHC), he thought fentanyl was the most toxic substance impacting drug users in Thunder Bay, Ont.

But he was wrong.

Using the organization's drug analyzer machine, he found traces of carfentanil — which is 100 times stronger than fentanyl — and nitazenes in the substances people brought in.

"That was very alarming," he said. "People think they're getting one thing but there's multiple things in their substance that can kill them in very small amounts."

The Thunder Bay district continues to have the highest opioid-related death rate in Ontario, at nearly five times the provincial average.

Meanwhile, the region's only supervised consumption site — Path 525 — closed at the end of March due to new provincial rules about how close sites can be to schools and childcare settings.

NWCHC, which operated Path 525, is now the lead partner for a new Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hub in town. However, unlike supervised consumption sites, these hubs do not allow drug consumption, safer supply or needle exchange programs.

In order to continue operating its drug analyzer machine, NWCHC sought a federal exemption under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. The organization received support from the City of Thunder Bay to get the program up and running through the Emergency Treatment Fund.

This week, the organization launched a new mobile outreach van, which has been retrofitted to allow the machine to be used on board.

"It tells you exactly every single thing that's in there," said Gill, who formerly worked at Path 525 and is now a harm reduction support worker for the mobile outreach van.

"When people come to test their substances, I don't know whose it is or why they're testing it, right? But for whatever reason it is, everybody deserves to know."

Juanita Lawson, executive director of NWCHC, said the organization was already looking into offering mobile drug checking services before Path 525's closure.

"One of the exciting things we'll be able to do is to go to locations in the city, make it — we're hoping — more accessible for individuals who might not have come into our program," Lawson said.

"Then also going to events such as music festivals or going to locations in the city where we know people might be using substances, and making sure they have access."