Something needs to change in Alberta’s opioid response front.
People are dying at an alarming rate in Alberta from opioid and other drug poisonings. APTN puts it succinctly:
“Province-wide, 2023 was the deadliest year on record for overdose deaths in Alberta. According to new data there were 2,051 drug-related deaths, 2023 surpassed 2022 by nearly 300 deaths. making for a 17 per cent increase. On average, six Albertans died from drug-poisoning per day in 2023, up from five in 2022.”
Anecdotal indications from opioid response and harm reduction groups across the province also state 2024 is so far on track to exceed 2023.
The death rate across Alberta is horrific and gruesome, but First Nations bear a particularly hard brunt when it comes to drug poisoning deaths, with a death rate over eight times the Alberta average of non-First Nations' peoples.
But let’s not kid ourselves, it is not solely a First Nations problem, it’s an increasing problem in every demographic.
About 68 per cent of all drug poisoning deaths are males and 32 per cent females, and most of those who died were between the ages of 30 and 39, many with young children.
Some advocacy groups feel drastic measures need to be taken, such as bringing in more harm reduction and safe supply policies.
According to one study conducted in 2023, published in the Canadian Journal of Public Health, about 63.5 per cent of Albertans support safe supply. But the same study found those opposed, about 25 per cent, were hard-care opposed– with those in favour and against breaking down across political/ ideological lines.
The Alberta government says it is fast-tracking the creation of new treatment beds province-wide, but this alone will likely be insufficient to stem the tide.
Perhaps it is time to consider safe supply.
