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By Shaun Penner

Drug Poisoning Deaths

Grande Prairie sees highest rate of opioid-related fatalities in 2021’s first quarter

Jun 4, 2021 | 2:07 PM

New data released by Alberta Health (AH) shows five more people died as a result of an accidental acute drug poisoning in March of 2021 in Grande Prairie.

Those fatalities, all of which were linked to non-pharmaceutical opioids like fentanyl, brings the death toll in Grande Prairie from any type of opioid to 13 in the first three months of 2021.

Three of those deaths were recorded in January, while the other five occurred in February.

One death was added by AH into February’s total from its last report, after investigation of a fatality by the Medical Examiner confirmed a pharmaceutical opioid, like codeine, hydromorphine or methadone, was determined to have been the cause of death.

That keeps Grande Prairie with the highest rate of drug poisoning deaths per 100,000 in the province, which sits at a monthly average of 68.2 per 100,000 for the first quarter of 2021. Lethbridge sits with the second-highest rate at 63.9, after that city posted 16 deaths from opioids between January and March.

Alberta-wide there were 346 deaths from opioid poisonings, 117 of which occurred in March. The provincial rate of drug poisoning deaths per 100,000 person years comes in at 29.6.

The fatalities build on what was a record year for opioid-related fatalities in Grande Prairie in 2020, where 33 people had died from a drug poisoning.

Over the seven month period between September 2020 and March 2021, there were 31 opioid-related fatalities in the Swan City.

Community-Based Health and STBBI Program Manager with the Northreach Society Lindsay Loset says despite the higher rate in Grande Prairie, the community is likely seeing similar trends to that from around the province.

Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Jason Luan said in March that in 2020, 70 per cent of opioid-related deaths in the province occurred in private homes.

“It’s that, I guess you could say, working class people. Just regular, everyday people that might have a substance abuse issue,” said Loset.

Loset says she and staff at the Supervised Consumption Site in Grande Prairie are however seeing a recent increase in overdose events at their facility.

With that, Northreach issued a drug alert Friday about two different forms of “down” (heroin, fentanyl) that are circulating in the community. One is white and grey in colour, and may look more like crystal meth. The other is brown and purple in colour.

Loset stresses those using such substances should not use alone, and should use at the SCS at the Rotary House.

“And if they can’t use at SCS, using under some sort of supervision, whether that’s a peer or friend, or using the National Overdose Response Service.”

The Alberta Government announced its intention in March to roll out a pilot program for the Digital Overdose Response System (DORS) app, which if initiated would trigger a call to the STARS emergency centre if an individual using opioids while alone is not responsive to a timer.

The app will be piloted this summer in Calgary before it is expected to expand to other communities by next year.

READ MORE: Province to pilot app aimed at curbing opioid overdoses in private homes

Anyone who witnesses an overdose in progress is urged to call 911, and is also reminded of the Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act. This provides some legal protections for people who experience or witness an overdose and call 911 or their local emergency service for help.

The Act applies to not only people witnessing an overdose, but the person overdosing as well. It protects the person who seeks help, as well as anybody else who is at the scene when help arrives.

The Act can protect the caller from charges for possession of a controlled substance under section 4(1) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, as well as consequences of breach of conditions regarding simple possession of controlled substances in: pre-trial release, probation orders, conditional sentences and parole.

The Act does not offer legal protection against more serious offences such as production and trafficking of controlled substances and all other crimes not outlined within the Act.

RELATED: Shedding stigma remains key factor in battle against opioids