The Regina Police Service (RPS) has been dealing with an outbreak of overdoses within the city that are connected to an increased presence of fentanyl.

As of January, there have been 272 overdoses in Regina, 124 of which police responded to. In total, 11 people have died, and 11 more deaths are being investigated.

Regina Deputy Chief Dean Rae says it’s a dramatic rise over 2019, but there’s only so much police can do to combat the problem.

“The biggest issue here is addition,” said Rae. “That’s a health issue, that’s not a police issue we can deal with.”

Global’s Carlyle Fiset sat down with Rae to discuss fentanyl, and how dealing with the problem requires help from health-care.

Answers have been edited for clarity and space.

Carlyle Fiset: Thank you for taking the time to chat with us. We know there has been a dramatic rise in overdoses in Regina. What do you think is behind the rise?

Dean Rae: Quite frankly we think it’s the increased prevalence of fentanyl in our community. We’ve seen a fair amount of fentanyl come into our community in the last year to 18 months. But specifically in the last six months there has been a dramatic rise in the prevalence of fentanyl in a lot of different drugs. It’s fentanyl derivatives incorporated into other drugs.

CF: There’s no switch you can flip to shut off the flow of it. What is the work being done to prevent that?

DR: It’s a bit of everything. It’s public messaging on the dangers of fentanyl. We send out many messages on fentanyl to the community, making them aware of what is out there, and there is a lot of enforcement action taking place by our service.

CF: Why is fentanyl so dangerous for drug users?

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