Opioid crisis not slowing down
Peterborough Public Health seeing one death every five days related to tainted drugs
The opioid crisis isn’t showing signs of abating so far in this year, according to new data from Peterborough Public Health (PPH). There’s still one death every five days, locally.
There were seven suspected drug poisoning deaths in January and a further four deaths in February in Peterborough city and county, Curve Lake First Nation and Hiawatha First Nation, PPH reports (the latest data available).
It means the pace in early 2024 matches that of 2023 — and the total number of deaths for last year was 78 (up from 59 deaths in 2022).
However some surges were noted in February. There were 14 ambulance calls or emergency room visits for drug poisonings the weekend of Feb. 10 and 11 in the Peterborough area, for example.
That prompted PPH to issue an alert, on the following Monday, about a green/orange-coloured drug that was circulating locally at the time (reportedly with a sedative effect).
Poisonings were occurring in high numbers elsewhere too, earlier that same week.
On Feb. 8, Belleville had 14 drug poisonings in a single afternoon, CBC reported, prompting the mayor to call a state of emergency.
Other mid-sized cities in Ontario are seeing the same type of escalation too. In Guelph, for instance, there were seven drug poisonings on the same day, Feb. 8 (again according to CBC).
It’s happening in Northern Ontario as well, with the health unit in Timmins issuing a warning March 4 about a surge in poisonings, Timmins Today reported.
Other new data from Peterborough Public Health shows the opioid crisis isn’t slowing down.
Here’s a breakdown of some of the details:
Number of 911 calls, in PPH jurisdiction, in February, 2024: 35 (the same month in 2023, there had been 33 calls)
Number of local 911 calls in January, 2024: 19
Number of visits to hospital by
There were seven suspected drug poisoning deaths in January and a further four deaths in February
local residents, over drug poisonings, in February, 2024: 38
■ Number of visits to hospital by local residents, over drug poisonings, in January, 2024: 31
The number of ER visits has generally hovered between 30 and 40 per month, over the last year.
“The harms experienced in our community are not unique as evidenced by the crises and harms being reported across the province and country,” says Hallie Atter, Director of Health Promotion with PPH, in an emailed statement to The Examiner.
“The services provided in our community are proven to save lives and do save lives every day.”
Atter adds service providers are working tirelessly to support the community. However, she says they are unable to address the underlying systemic causes.
“Treatment, prevention, harm reduction, and enforcement services are required in combination to assist those who use drugs and prevent future harm. Many people in our community are struggling to find shelter and put food on the table, both which contribute to chronic stress,” says Atter. “There are gaps and barriers in the health-care system leading to unaddressed illness and inadequate access to treatment services.”
Earlier this year in a news release, PPH named places to go for help locally to check what substances are contained in street drugs.
Peterborough’s Consumption and Treatment site (220 Simcoe St.) has a testing device and is offering that service (check there for times).
The consumption and treatment site also has strips to check for fentanyl, benzos and xylazine, and offers the strips during regular hours of operation (9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily).