A new tool has been introduced to the Territory that is meant to help in the ongoing fight against toxicity and contamination issues found in illegal drugs.
Known as the Randox MultiSTAT Analyzer, this tool allows for much faster toxicology screenings of substances in order to find possible contaminated drug supplies when investigating a suspicious death. It is believed that this will allow the Chief Coroner and the Chief Public Health Officer to do their jobs faster and help keep the public safe.
In previous cases of deaths caused by illicit drugs, bodily fluid examinations and toxicology reports have taken up to forty-five days due to a first-come, first-serve process, which also involved sending the samples to other labs across Canada.
This new device is able to detect multiple types of drugs in under thirty minutes. It is believed that being able to detect harmful substances like fentanyl, methamphetamine, and benzodiazepine should result in a faster time to notify the public of when these substances are in the area, and how they can properly respond to it.
The NWT is one of the only areas in the country that is using this tool, and the first to use it as standard practice for coroners.
