`I CRIED TEARS FOR THEM'
Dozens of people took part in an International Overdose Awareness Day march through Downtown followed by a rally at the Federal Building Tuesday.
When Petra Schulz's son, Danny, died from an overdose in 2014, about 12 Albertans a month were dying of a drug poisoning.
“I read the obituaries. I cried tears for them and their families,” Schulz said. “Now, 12 people die every three days, every three days in the province. And still there are many people who don't even know how bad it is.”
Schulz, the co-founder of Moms Stop the Harm (MSTH), a Canadawide group advocating for better drug policies, spoke about her family's experience and the advocacy work she's done since her son's death during a rally for International Overdose Awareness Day (IOAD) on Tuesday.
Between January and May of this year, 624 Albertans have died of a drug poisoning. In 2020, a total of 1,334 Albertans died of a drug poisoning, compared to 798 in 2019.
“It's a carnage,” Schulz told the dozens of Edmontonians gathered at Capital Plaza outside the Federal Building. “What makes it harder is that we know the solutions . ... We just need to acknowledge them and you need to implement them.”
Edmontonians marked International Overdose Awareness Day with a march, starting at the Homeless Memorial Park, located at 103A Avenue and 100 Street. From there, the march stopped at Boyle Street Community Services, the site of a former safe consumption site that was shut earlier this year.
Participants carried signs and photos of loved ones for those who died of a drug poisoning.
The march went through downtown Edmonton, ending at the plaza outside the Federal Building where individuals spoke about how they have been affected.
“It's not an opioid crisis and it's not an addictions crisis. It's a crisis of a poisoned drug supply,” Schulz told the crowd. “So what we need to do is once we understand the problem, we can identify the solutions.”
MSTH is among a coalition of Albertans promoting harm reduction calling for the provincial government to take immediate action to address the drug poisoning crisis, including calls on the province to add safe consumption sites and implement drug checking services.
In a statement for IOAD, associate minister of mental health and addictions Mike Ellis said the day is a “solemn reminder of what the world has lost due to the illness of addiction.”
He added the province is committed to a “full recovery-oriented system of care.”