Drug overdose deaths in Lethbridge remain high, but have been declining in 2024. (Photo: Steveheap | Dreamstime.com)

By David Opinko

Drug overdose deaths in Lethbridge declining

Jul 22, 2024 | 8:14 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – A new report shows that the number of people who are dying from illicit drug use in Lethbridge remains high, but is falling.

The Government of Alberta has updated its Alberta Substance Use Surveillance System report, which includes information up to the end of April 2024.

It says eight people died from overdoses in Lethbridge in April, bringing the year-to-date total to 22.

While any deaths from drug use are too many, it is less than half of what we saw in the same period last year. In the first four months of 2023, 54 people in the city succumbed to overdoses.

So far this year, EMS responded to an average of over 14 opioid-related events each month.

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Provincially, it was the same picture as in Lethbridge where the number of fatal overdoses fell from last year, but remained high.

Across Alberta, 452 people lost their lives between January and the end of April, which includes 90 in the most recent month. That marks a drop from 627 in the first third of 2023.

In cases where multiple substances were detected in the victim’s body, fentanyl was found 97 per cent of the time while meth was present in 66 per cent of instances.

The report shows that men and those aged 35-39 are the most likely to die as a result of illicit drug use.

The this link to read the full Alberta Substance Use Surveillance System report.

READ MORE: Lethbridge News Now

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