By Shaun Penner

Opioid Crisis

GP tops province for fentanyl-related deaths in early 2019

Jul 4, 2019 | 5:30 AM

The opioid crisis in Grande Prairie continues to grow.

Alberta Health released its 2019 first quarter report on fatal drug overdoses and the Swan City ranked the highest in the province in the rate of accidental fentanyl-related poisoning deaths.

Through the first three months of 2019, 11 people died from a fentanyl overdose, setting a rate of 59 people per 100,000 losing their lives due to the highly dangerous drug.

Lethbridge had the second highest rate, coming in at 36.7 per 100,000.

One of the many groups and organizations in Grande Prairie that is playing a role in the fight against the crisis is the Northreach Society. Having added a supervised consumption site back in March outside Rotary House, it has helped control the level and types of drugs users are consuming in a safe and controlled environment.

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However, as Assistant Executive Director at Northreach Johnathon Fortune points out, the clients the mobile site serves are nearly 100 per cent from the street population. The thing is, this crisis isn’t exclusive to the homeless community.

“Most of the accidental fentanyl-related overdose deaths are coming from outside of that population,” said Fortune. “We’ve done so much in this city to address the epidemic, but it’s really affecting people from all demographics; people in suburbia, middle class people, teens, seniors, veterans, people from all walks of life.”

Accidental opioid poisoning deaths, based on place of overdose in Grande Prairie. January 1, 2019 to March 31, 2019. (Photo: AHS)

The fatality rate is already a big climb from 2018 in Grande Prairie. Twenty-four people lost their lives last year to fentanyl overdoses (a rate of 32.4 people per 100,000), which was slightly down from the 27 that died in 2017.

The Swan City had the second-highest rate of fentanyl related deaths in 2018 behind Red Deer, which had a fatality rate of 43.8 per 100,000. This year, that rate in the central Alberta city has shot way down to just 7.3, with just two people having lost their lives between January and March because of fentanyl. They attribute a lot of that success to their supervised consumption site.

With that, Fortune says one of the main goals now is to break the stigma around addiction and continue to build on the open conversation around opioid use.

“It isn’t just one person’s problem and I think it is going to take everyone to beat this systemic issue,” said Fortune. “It’s all about knowing the dangers, the signs, the symptoms of opioid use and that can essentially really save a lot of lives.”

Fortune says that ideally, all opioid users would use the consumption site, not just those who are homeless. He notes there are certified nurses and paramedics on-site to make sure users are taking drugs in a safe and clean environment.

“There is a whole other side of our supervised consumption site; that is making referrals, setting people up with detox and treatment services,” said Fortune. “Whatever kind of services people need when they come in to use our service, we’re making sure that we’re hooking them up with that service.”

Further resources can be found through contacting Northreach, or by checking out everyoneisimpacted.com, which features the locally produced video series “Critical Condition”. You can also book facilitated sessions on opioid education through that site.

“Talk to your loved ones openly, remove the stigma of addiction. It isn’t something that only happens to the weak. It can happen to anyone with or without knowledge. If you have some issues, reach out,” adds Fortune.