Alberta fentanyl deaths continue to rise, but at slower rate

But she says it’s too early to say whether the province is successfully beating back the opioid crisis.

Grimsrud says numbers at the midpoint of 2018 will give a more accurate picture on the broader trend.

“It’s interesting that the numbers are continuing to look like they’re plateauing,” Grimsrud told a news conference Thursday.

“At this point we can remain encouraged, but I don’t want to say outright that we’ve turned the corner.”

Of the 228 deaths, 66 were from the more deadly opioid carfentanil.

Grimsrud says numbers at the midpoint of 2018 will give a more accurate picture on the broader trend.

According to Stacey Carmichael with Turning Point, Red Deer has seen 28 overdose fatalities in 2018, including nine in May and just two in June.

“It is great that the rates seem to be slowing overall but we cannot become complacent,” Carmichael says. “I am happy that there is an ongoing commitment from all levels of government and communities to continue to work on evidence based solutions, such as Supervised Consumption Services and Opioid Agonist Therapy. It is also great that we are deliberately working towards stigma reduction.

“Being able to provide Naloxone has helped alleviate the overdose fatalities significantly. We are super grateful that this is something that has been made available – I cannot imagine how terrible things would be without it.”

(With file from The Canadian Press)

by rdnewsNOW staff

Alberta fentanyl deaths continue to rise, but at slower rate

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