Drug overdose deaths rising in Lethbridge this year

Aug 12, 2021 | 10:14 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – A new report from the Government of Alberta shows more people dying as a result of drug overdoses in the first five months of this year compared to the same period in 2020.

The latest Alberta Substance Use Surveillance Report mostly shows numbers up until the end of May 2021.

Seven people in Lethbridge succumbed to overdoses, also referred to as drug poisoning deaths, in the month of May, pushing the year-to-date total to 25.

In the first five months of last year, 17 people had lost their lives.

For this May, the city had a rate of drug poisoning deaths per 100,000 persons of 83.9 compared to 53.6 for the South Zone and 32.4 across Alberta.

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So far this year, 624 Albertans have died due to drug overdoses, just under three quarters of whom were male. The age group of 35-39-year-olds were the most heavily impacted.

Many of those who died were consuming multiple substances. Fentanyl was detected in 85 per cent of deaths, meth in 57 per cent, and alcohol in 28 per cent.

In the first quarter of this year, there were 473 hospitalizations Chinook Regional Hospital as a result of illicit substance use. The week of March 29 to April 4, 2021, was the busiest week for EMS response to overdoses in Lethbridge this year with 17 trips being made.

The first quarter saw 3,058 naloxone kits being given out in the South Zone and another 599 at pharmacies.

You can view the full Alberta Substance Use Surveillance Report here.

by David Opinko