Alberta opioid deaths dipped slightly in July

But province remains on track to record its grimmest yearly fatality total to date

Opioid fatalities in Alberta were down slightly over the first half of summer, but 2021's scourge remains the most lethal so far.

Known fatal overdoses from opioids — the vast majority of them involving fentanyl — numbered 242 last June and July, a five per cent drop from the 254 recorded during the same months last year.

That's due to deaths last July falling from 144 in the previous year to 112 this past summer, one of only two months in 2021 to see a reduction.

But that shift in the deadly tally only slightly slows the trend toward the grimmest year to date in Alberta's opioids overdose crisis.

In the first seven months of the year, 720 Albertans have succumbed to overdoses compared to 619 in the same time period in 2020, which was by far the worst year for fatalities with 1,316.

It's too early to have much optimism that the tide is shifting, said Dr. Monty Ghosh, an internal medicine and addictions physician.

“I hope they have, but the general trend has shifted since COVID -19 to worse outcomes,” he said.

An increase in the distribution of naloxone kits, which are used to reverse overdoses, could be a factor in the declining July numbers, he said. But an alarming trend, he said, is the presence of carfentanil, a synthetic opioid analgesic fentanyl that is 100 times more potent and far more prevalent in Edmonton than in Calgary, said Ghosh.

He noted 50 per cent of opioid deaths in the province's capital so far this year involved carfentanil, whereas, in Calgary, that figure is five per cent.

In June-july, there were 111 opioid deaths in Edmonton, while 77 were recorded in Calgary.

“What I'm hearing on the streets is there's a huge carfentanil issue in Edmonton,” said Ghosh. “We clearly need more resources in Edmonton: harm reduction, treatment, opioid agonist treatments.”

The substance is so deadly, he said, handling it is extremely dangerous for its local manufacturers and dealers, let alone its consumers.

Physicians say it's more difficult to reverse carfentanil overdoses due to its heightened lethality.

Another indicator about the seriousness of that problem is the climbing number of overdoses in Edmonton's supervised consumption sites, where those episodes are more likely to be reversed, he said.

Some experts say the COVID-19 pandemic has deepened the crisis by increasing isolation, diverting medical resources and heightening overall mental health pressures.

Petra Schulz doesn't take much comfort in the latest numbers, noting the province is still struggling with its worst year of the crisis. Schulz, whose 25-year-old son Danny died of a fentanyl overdose in 2014, said the province has been too reluctant to take urgent steps.

“We're in a crisis and we have to focus first on keeping people alive,” said Schulz. “Treatment is not the solution to the overdose crisis.”

She said the province should reopen supervised consumption sites it has closed in the overdose hot spots of Edmonton and Lethbridge and pledge to keep the sole Calgary facility operating.

On Thursday, the UCP government said it's “exploring options for new supervised consumption services (SCS) in underserved areas of Edmonton,” though it didn't provide a timeline for the opening of any new facility.