TIMELINE OF A CRISIS

PART 2

Here is a timeline of some key events before and during the Opioid Crisis in Lethbridge.

-Aug. 8, 2000

A letter from Barry D. Ulmer, Executive Director, Chronic Pain Association of Canada) titled “Research needed for pain control” is printed.

It stated “A Gallup survey in the United States and two other research studies indicate that physicians must be more sensitive to people in pain and far more receptive to using both opiates and alternative therapies when treating them. The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention reported that people suffer needlessly largely because available methods for treating pain are under used. The problem is exacerbated by misconceptions among health care professionals and regulators about pain itself and the opioid pain-killing medications that include morphine. Most physicians have not been trained about prescribing opioids for chronic pain problems and tend to overestimate the risk of addiction, according to the University of Wisconsin Medical School.”

-Dec. 22, 2007

An Associated Press articled titled “Improperly used fentanyl patches can be deadly” runs in The Herald.

“Improper use of patches that emit the painkiller fentanyl is still killing people, the U.S. government said Friday - its second warning in two years about the powerful narcotic. Some of the deaths came after doctors prescribed the patches to the wrong patients, the Food and Drug Administration said. The drug is only for chronic pain in people used to narcotics, such as cancer patients, and can cause trouble breathing in people new to this family of "opioid" painkillers. Yet the FDA found cases in which doctors prescribed the patch for headaches or post-surgical pain. The FDA's main message Friday: Do not prescribe fentanyl patches to anyone new to opioids, the painkiller family that includes morphine. Absorbing fentanyl through the skin is a powerful way to deliver the potent drug and thus poses serious risk to anyone not already opioid-tolerant.”

-May 23, 2014

Lethbridge Police and London Drugs host Prescription Drug Round-Up and say “healthcare professionals have identified opioid misuse as a public health crisis due to addiction rates and overdose deaths.”

-March 3, 2015

Community members on the Blood Reserve rally to raise awareness of the dangers of Oxy 80, an illegally-manufactured form of OxyContin, after it was reported about 10 deaths were related to Oxy 80 overdoses on the reserve in a six-month span.

-April 6, 2015

A Herald Editorial called “There's no quality control when it comes to illicit drugs” is published.

Within it reads: “Fentanyl, a lethal synthetic opioid painkiller that is 100 times more toxic than morphine, is often passed off as the new form of OxyContin and the consequences have been deadly. You've probably seen news reports of the prevalence of fentanyl in southern Alberta and the resulting overdose deaths that have occurred. The situation has prompted police and health officials in several communities to issue public warnings.”

-June 8, 2015

The then-called Lethbridge HIV Connection (now ARCHES) is selected as one of eight agencies in the province to distribute takehome naloxone kits, a drug which can be injected to counter the effects of opioids such as fentanyl, oxycodone, morphine, or heroin.

-Feb. 3, 2016

Alberta Health Services distributes 4,000 take-home kits to 29 clinics and eight harm reduction sites across the province in response to a rapid rise in fentanyl-related deaths.

-Oct. 8, 2016

A Canadian Press story called “Opioid 100 times more toxic than fentanyl circulating in province; Carfentanil tied to two deaths” runs in The Herald

“Carfentanil is about 100 times more toxic than fentanyl and about 10,000 times more toxic than morphine," said Dr. Karen Grimsrud, Alberta's chief medical officer of health. "An amount as small as a grain of sand can kill you."

-Oct. 28, 2016

A CP story “Alta. eyes safe sites to battle fentanyl” outlines the Alberta government’s plan to explore a plan to set up supervised sites for opioid use.

Brandy Payne, Alberta's associate minister of health, said “By investing in harm-reduction programs, the government is taking action to save lives and support people struggling with addictions.”

-November 2016

The Executive Leaders Coalition on Opioid Use forms, with 16 local organizations trying to improve coordination between services and respond locally to the opioid crisis. The Coalition includes representatives from the health, police, justice, emergency medical, post-secondary, municipal, education, and social service sectors.

-Feb. 9, 2017

The provincial government announces it is moving forward with several initiatives to combat the opioid crisis, including the delivery and training of naloxone for first responders.

-March 11, 2017

A CP story “Federal funding to include $6M for Alta. for opioid crisis” runs in The Herald.

It says: “Alberta's health-care funding deal with the federal government includes $6 million to deal with

increasing numbers of deaths from opioids such as fentanyl.”

-May 2, 2017

A local coalition on opioid abuse informed members of city council about the scope of the issue and how, through collaborative efforts, it plans to combat the multi-faceted problem.

-July 31, 2017

ARCHES Lethbridge announces it had filed an application with Health Canada to establish the supervised consumption site. The facility requires a federal exemption to allow drug use inside the building.

-Aug. 10, 2017

A former downtown area nightclub was identified as the location for a medically-supervised drug consumption site. The location chosen, 1016 1 Ave. S., was determined to be best suited due to its close proximity to primary areas where public drug use occurs, its proximity to public transit, and the fact that it is well away from residential neighbourhoods. There is a high incidence of overdoses occurring within a 1.5kilometre radius of the identified site, said Jill Manning ARCHES Managing Director. Thirty-eight per cent of

emergency calls related to overdoses happen within that radius.

-Oct. 19, 2017

Health Canada approves the first few supervised consumption facilities in Alberta, including the one for Lethbridge. ARCHES and Edmonton-based coalition AMSISE received an exemption from federal drug legislation, allowing them to operate supervised consumption sites.

-Oct. 21, 2017

Government officials and local media receive a tour of the city's future supervised consumption site under construction. The Lethbridge site is the first in North America to be granted the exemption for all four modes of consumption and is said to become a “clean and safe space.”

-Dec. 1, 2017

A provincial government announcement that eight new detoxification beds will soon be built at Chinook Regional Hospital, marking a "good start" to the need in Lethbridge.

Lethbridge Herald Here is a timeline of some key events before and during the Opioid Crisis in Lethbridge (continued from Page C1 and Page C2).

-Jan. 30, 2018

Alberta Health Services introduces a new province-wide opioid awareness campaign, with advertising on light-rail transit trains in Edmonton and Calgary, as well as billboards, radio spots and posters at post-secondary campuses, in restaurants and in bars.

-Feb. 28, 2018

Lethbridge supervised drug consumption site — the first of its kind to permit four types of consumption: injection, ingestion, inhaling or inter-nasal — opens its doors. The facility opens at a time when City emergency responders are dealing with a spike in overdoses, likely due to carfentanil on the streets.

-March 1, 2018

In an interview with The Herald, United Conservative Party leader Jason Kenney said he would be opposed to expanding Safe Consumption Sites across the province if elected premier.

"Helping addicts inject poison into their bodies is not a solution to the problem of addiction," he said. Disagreeing with local Lethbridge government, aid organizations and law enforcement officers who have championed the site, Kenney went on to state he did not feel safe consumption or injection sites work, as evidenced by the spike in opioid overdose deaths in Vancouver despite having a safe injection site in that city for over a decade.

-March 1, 2018

A state of emergency is declared on the Blood Reserve in response to more than 30 overdoses and at least one death in the past week, as a particularly strong mixture of fentanyl hits Blood Tribe communities and Lethbridge. Chief and council authorizes additional funding of $750,000 as well as additional manpower to assist in dealing with the crisis.

-March 6, 2018

Members of the community and community groups come together in solidarity to raise awareness and to remember those suffering most through the opioid crisis. The event, "Communities in Crisis – Coming Together" features a walk from city hall to Galt Gardens, followed by a vigil.

-April 2, 2018

City councillors vote 7-2 in favour of providing ARCHES with an additional $54,000 to help fund its Needle Collection Program for April through the end of December, an increase of over $20,000 from the previous service contract ending March 31. Most of the money ($31,425) came from council’s own contingency fund with the additional amount coming from city’s FCSS discretionary fund. The money will be spent by ARCHES on additional staffing to enhance the hours of service offered for its needle collection service,

-June 1 and June 4, 2018

The Herald ran an article on “Parents worried after son struck by discarded needle,” then an article on “Mom finds used needle in backpack of six-year-old son.” See Page C5.

-June 11, 2018

The needle issue divides City Council as attempt to hold a community meeting exploring the idea of restricting needle distribution to the supervised consumption site is blocked. Coun. Blaine Hyggen requested Council hold a Community Issues Committee meeting on the opioid crisis focusing on a discussion about syringes being “in circulation only within ARCHES Supervised Consumption Site and that needles not be permitted to leave the building.”

-June 16, 2018

A “Not Another Needle Rally” is held in front of city hall.

-July 9, 2018

A resolution to stop needles from leaving the supervised consumption site is delayed for two weeks as Lethbridge City Council pushes off making a decision on it to their next regular meeting. Coun. Blaine Hyggen put forward the resolution, which was then subject to a vote to delay that passed six to three. Hyggen was joined by Coun. Joe Mauro and Coun. Ryan Parker, who also voted against the delay.

-July 23, 2018

Lethbridge City Council set to vote on Hyggen’s resolution, which calls for council to direct ARCHES to stop the distribution of needles leaving the Safe Consumption Site, and that needles being distributed be only used at the SCS.