Latest opioid data shows slower summer in Red Deer, but crisis remains

NDP Critic for Mental Health and Addictions, Janet Eremenko, says drug poisonings are preventable.

“We are losing six people every day, and these are not just numbers on a graph. Behind every number is a story of a loved one and of people hurting. Every death is an empty seat at the holiday table that could have been saved if the UCP government had responded with a harm reduction approach that we know saves lives,” says Eremenko.

“New data showing that the province is on track for the deadliest year in history is devastating, and Danielle Smith and the UCP must admit their approach is not working.”

Last week, at the UCP’s annual general meeting, party delegates voted in favour of a resolution in support of defunding supervised consumption services. The resolution is non-binding and MLAs are not beholden to tabling it as legislation.

In a statement, Ministry of Mental Health and Addiction Press Secretary Hunter Baril says the ministry supports the grassroots process which allows members to put forward and vote on policies.

“As government, we represent all Albertans, and we take those policies back to engage with Albertans and experts before our caucus and cabinet make any decisions,” he says. “Services such as drug consumption sites are one part of a larger system that is focused on supporting long-term recovery from addiction, and we will continue to review them on a site-by-site basis.”

Baril says the government is committed to making life-saving treatment available to all Albertans suffering from addiction.

“For too long, governments have looked for ways to manage or even facilitate addiction instead of providing access to treatment and support for recovery,” he adds. “We support access to on-demand treatment through the Virtual Opioid Dependency Program with no fees and no waitlist. We’ve increased access to treatment province-wide with over 10,000 new annual treatment spaces since 2019. We will continue building capacity with the construction of 11 new recovery communities, including one that recently opened its doors in Red Deer. Through the Alberta Recovery Model, we have removed the $1240/month user fees that were in place.”

Eremenko says she can’t predict whether that resolution will actually make its way to the Legislature, but does believe, “all signs indicate they will cut back on programs that save lives.”

Interestingly, Q2 2023 saw 7,244 visits to the Red Deer overdose prevention site (OPS), which is supervised consumption on a smaller scale. It is operated by Alberta Health Services.

That number is lower than any quarterly total since Q4 2018, including coming in just barely under the number from Q2 2021.

It’s also down from 9,962 visits in Q1 2023.

If OPS usage is down, and so are deaths — in August at least — what can that be attributed to?

“I don’t think the lower number of deaths is necessarily because of any changes to how people are behaving, or because of substance use rates and the dangers to people. It’s most likely the supply,” says Reed Charbonneau, executive director of Turning Point, which operated the OPS before it was handed over to AHS.

“We did notice in the summer there weren’t as many poisonings. With the OPS usage, there are a couple of things. One is people who use drugs are smart and aware of what’s in the supply, so perhaps people were staying away because there were so few poisonings. Another likely reason is the switchover; a lot of the staff there is the same and it’s still a great place to go, but people who use drugs are people who’ve experienced trauma, and they struggle with change.”

Just because Red Deer saw a low number of deaths, people shouldn’t let their guard down, Charbonneau says.

“It’s really important people know that it’s still very dire. A lot of people have been dying more recently than August,” he says. “It’s not something that’s going away at all, so it’s really important the services that are here continue to be offered. There’s also more access to recovery happening and that’s making a big difference.”

Turning Point has made many a referral to the new recovery community on Red Deer’s north end, he shares.

“We’ve had a few who’ve gone and had very good experiences,” Charbonneau says. “But a lot of others aren’t ready for recovery, so they need help while they’re building up what we like to call their ‘recovery capital.’ That way, they can stay alive and hopefully one day make it to recovery.”

At the Red Deer OPS, there were 278 adverse events attended to in Q2 2023, the second lowest total of any quarter since 2020.

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by Josh Hall | @Vancan19

Latest opioid data shows slower summer in Red Deer, but crisis remains

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