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By Erika Rolling

Drug Crisis

Overdose deaths on the decline in Grande Prairie

Jan 8, 2025 | 1:00 PM

New numbers have been released by the provincial government on acute substance use around Alberta.

In the latest Alberta substance use surveillance system update, it shows up until September of 2024 that Grande Prairie had less people dying due to acute substances in the past five years.

From January-September 2024, 21 people passed away due to drug poisoning in the Swan City. Data from years prior show a steep decline in this data measurement; with 48 deaths in 2023, 51 in 2022, and 53 in 2021.

None of the drug poisoning deaths in 2024 have been linked to pharmaceuticals or benzodiazepines so far. Substances linked to the 21 deaths in Grande Prairie in the first three quarters of 2024 are:

• Alcohol – 4
• Cocaine – 7
• Methamphetamine – 9
• Non-pharmaceutical opioids – 15

All unintentional opioid poisoning deaths in Q3 of 2024 in Grande Prairie happened in public places. This means un-secure areas that people can access, like apartment common areas, etc.

EMS responded to 70 calls for opioid related matters in Grande Prairie up until September 2024, significantly lower than 150 EMS responses made in the entirety of 2023.

Grande Prairie’s supervised Safe Consumption Site had 262 unique visitors in the first three quaters of last year. Out of this data, 62 adverse events were responded to up until September 2024 at the SCS.

The city has two sites that are open 12 hours per day and have been in operation since March 2019.

Out of 886 deaths in Alberta last year due to drug poisoning, nearly 3/4 of them were men with 648. The largest age group affected are 35-39 year olds provincially with 144.

Fentanyl remains the biggest threat to drug related deaths in the province, with 94 per cent of 591 acute accidental drug poisoning deaths involving it.