GREATER SUDBURY, Ont. — Crystal Plume sits in the shade of a tree near a busy intersection in downtown Sudbury and carefully injects fentanyl into a vein on the back of her hand before licking the speck of blood left behind.
The 36-year-old who regularly panhandles in the northern Ontario city says her substance use disorder has worsened in recent years and she's lost many friends to opioid overdoses."Everyone is using drugs now. It's the fastest and easiest way to numb your pain. I was only smoking at first, now I smash it."
The illegal supply of powerful opioids, particularly fentanyl, in the city has put a growing number of drug users at risk, she says. "You get hot flashes, pain on the back of your leg for some reason, and your mood is so hard to control, you're angry, you can't focus on anything" says Grigg. There are fewer social services in the north compared to the south and there is a higher percentage of Indigenous residents who may have trauma related to colonialism that's been known to lead to increased substance use, she says. Northern Ontario also has more mining, and studies have indicated young men working in trades disproportionately overdose on opioids, she says.
Steve Jacques, general manager of community development for Greater Sudbury, says the municipality has been funding the city's supervised consumption site and has taken several steps to help address the crisis, including transitional housing for people with addiction, increasing the number of shelter beds and hiring outreach workers who connect drugs users with services.
"Additionally, in response to the pandemic’s impact on substance use, our government is implementing the Addictions Recovery Fund, a one-time investment of $90 million over three years to boost capacity in addictions services," W.D. Lighthall wrote in a statement.
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