3 people died from suspected overdoses on Saturday in Regina: health ministry

Three people in Regina died from suspected toxic drug overdoses on Saturday, according to the Saskatchewan Coroners Service.

The deaths prompted the provincial health ministry to issue an alert Monday regarding the unknown substance. The alert is only in effect in the city of Regina. It noted that recent events “indicate a higher risk of overdose and death from drugs in the area.”

“Alcohol may have been a contributing factor to the suspected overdose in one instance,” the Saskatchewan Ministry of Health added in its bulletin.

Officials are unsure what the drug is being sold as, according to the ministry. In some instances, it said the drug was possibly sold as cocaine or fentanyl.

People are injecting or inhaling the substances, the health ministry said. It was described as a cloudy liquid with a white, or solid, residue at the bottom.

Cocaine, fentanyl and alcohol were among some of the substances officials believe may be in the toxic drug. The health ministry cautioned that the overdose-reversing drug naloxone is not effective against non-opioids like cocaine.

The overdose alert will expire in one week, on Sept. 7.