A new report shows a declining number of fatal drug overdoses in the South Health Zone. (Photo: Moussa81 | Dreamstime.com)

By David Opinko

Drug overdose deaths down 186% in South Health Zone

Dec 4, 2024 | 12:51 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – While any deaths due to drug use are too many, things appear to be trending in the right direction.

The Government of Alberta has released the latest update to its substance use surveillance system report, showing numbers up to the end of August 2024.

In the first eight months of this year, 58 people in the South Health Zone died as a result of a drug overdose.

That is down by 186 per cent from last year’s record of 166 and a decrease from 97 in 2022 (-67 per cent).

A similar trend was seen in Lethbridge as the city recorded 38 overdose deaths from January to August 2023, down from 92 in the same period in 2022 (-142 per cent).

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The trend of annual drug overdose death numbers in the South Health Zone, January-August. (Image: Lethbridge News Now / with files from Government of Alberta)

The trend of annual drug overdose death numbers in Lethbridge, January-August. (Image: Lethbridge News Now / with files from Government of Alberta)

Fentanyl was detected in the victim’s body in 94 per cent of fatal overdoses in the South Health Zone, while methamphetamine was found 71 per cent of the time.

Provincially, almost three-quarters of fatal overdose victims were men (72.7 per cent) and the most common age group is 35-39.

The full report can be found on the Government of Alberta website.

READ MORE: Lethbridge News Now

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