Lethbridge records 37 drug overdose deaths in Q1 2022. (Photo: Moussa81 | Dreamstime.com)

By David Opinko

Lethbridge records 37 drug overdose deaths in Q1 2022

Jun 6, 2022 | 11:49 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Lethbridge is on pace to beat last year’s record-breaking numbers for drug overdose deaths.

The Government of Alberta’s Substance Use Surveillance System report has been updated to reflect the numbers for the first three months of 2022.

Between January 1 and March 31, 2022, 37 people in the city lost their lives due to the consumption of illicit substances.

In February 2022, Lethbridge recorded 19 deaths, which is the highest number on record for a single month in the city since the provincial government began tracking opioid overdose deaths in 2016.

New records for drug overdose deaths were set in Lethbridge and Alberta in 2021. However, in the first three months of last year, only 15 deaths had been recorded in Lethbridge.

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READ MORE: Alberta and Lethbridge record deadliest year for drug overdoses in 2021

Province-wide, 444 Albertans lost their lives due to drug overdoses in the first quarter of this year. This marks an increase from 360 deaths in the same period in 2021.

Approximately three-quarters of people who died from drug overdoses were men. These incidents were the most common among those in the age group of 35-39.

While overdose deaths spiked in February on both a local and provincial basis, the numbers dropped significantly in March 2022.

READ MORE: Opioid-related deaths in Alberta decreased significantly in March 2022

In the South Health Zone, the use of illicit substances resulted in 268 visits to emergency departments in the first quarter of 2022.

The AHS-operated Overdose Prevention Site (OPS) in Lethbridge was visited 12,157 times in Q1 2022, which is a number that has been fairly consistent over the last year. Medical crews responded to 200 adverse events at the facility located outside of the Lethbridge Shelter and Stabilization Centre.

The OPS is still utilized far less than the former ARCHES Supervised Consumption Site, which reported a peak of 66,168 visits in the fourth quarter of 2019.

Read more Lethbridge News Now.