SaskatchewanThe Saskatchewan Health Authority warned the public about the possible presence of deadly drugs in the community after a spilled biomedical waste container was found in an abandoned lot in North Battleford. The health authority says it’s working with its biomedical waste disposal provider to find out what happened.Health authority says it’s working with waste disposal provider to find out what happenedLori Coolican · CBC News · Posted: Oct 08, 2025 4:38 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours agoSaskatchewan Health Authority staff who responded to a call about medical waste found in a lot in North Battleford on Tuesday found discarded sharps and depleted vials of controlled medications from a biomedical waste container. The vials’ contents included drugs that cause paralysis and death if used without life support measures. (Luiscar74/Shutterstock)”Highly dangerous” drugs that were the subject of a Saskatchewan Health Authority alert aimed at people in the North Battleford area did not originate with a trafficking ring.They came from a health-care facility.The alert, issued by the provincial health authority on Tuesday, warned of “an incident of lost or stolen medication vials that were discarded as medical waste.” It warned that the drugs, which look like a clear or milky white liquid, might be circulating at street level and carry a risk of “paralysis and death” if used.In a statement to CBC, the health authority said staff were “alerted to discarded needles and other drug paraphernalia” found “on an abandoned property in North Battleford” on Tuesday.Health authority staff “identified discarded sharps and depleted vials of controlled medications from a biomedical waste container,” the statement read.The medications “may contain unknown quantities” of fentanyl, morphine, midazolam, rocuronium, succinylcholine, propofol and ketamine, according to the health authority’s alert.Rocuronium and succinylcholine can cause respiratory muscle paralysis, inability to breathe, and death if they are not used with mechanical ventilation and airway support, according to the health authority.Midazolam is a benzodiazepine and rocuronium is a paralytic. The alert warns that naloxone, which is commonly used as a life-saving measure after an overdose, will not reverse the effects of either drug.Propofol and ketamine can cause decreased heart rate, low blood pressure, loss of airway reflexes and unconsciousness.WATCH | Toxic mixes make it harder to treat overdoses, front-line workers warned in July:Toxic mixes making it harder to treat street drug overdoses, front-line workers warnFront-line workers are sounding the alarm over toxins increasingly making their way into synthetic street drugs, making it more difficult to treat overdoses. Epidemiologist Dr. Christopher Labos tells CBC News it’s the ‘unfortunate’ consequence of a drug problem that’s not controlled. It’s not yet clear how the medications ended up in an abandoned lot.The health authority “has rigorous policies and procedures in place governing the safe and controlled disposal of medical waste and we are taking this incident seriously,” according to its statement.“SHA staff are investigating how the medical waste ended up at the location, including working with our biomedical waste disposal provider and local health teams to identify any gaps in handling and disposal processes.”In a news release responding to the drug alert, the Saskatchewan NDP noted two drug alerts were issued for the Saskatoon area last month after tests of street drugs found deadly, naloxone-resistant substances mixed with fentanyl.”We welcome an investigation by the SHA as to how this drug disposal happened and to ensure that it never happens again,” said Nicole Sarauer, the Opposition party’s critic for justice and public safety.”The drug crisis in this province has already taken too many lives.”The NDP has called for an emergency response plan that would include real-time drug alert systems and overdose data, as well as improved tracking and reporting of drug toxicity deaths.ABOUT THE AUTHORLori Coolican has been a reporter and editor in Western Canada since 1996.
Sask. Health Authority investigating how dangerous hospital drugs ended up in North Battleford lot
