Lethbridge breaks record for most overdose deaths in a year

Lethbridge has set a new record for drug overdose deaths, with 94 recorded drug overdose deaths between January and August 2023. (FILE)

LETHBRIDGE, ALTA. -

Lethbridge has set a new record for drug overdose deaths.

There were 94 recorded drug overdose deaths in Lethbridge between January and August 2023, according to data tracked by the Government of Alberta.

2023 will set a new benchmark for overdose deaths as it has already surpassed last year’s total of 77 deaths, which was the previous record going back to 2016 when numbers were first tracked.

“Honestly I’m not that surprised,” said Amber Jensen with Moms Stop the Harm.

“We've been hit with a lot of deaths here in our community. And it's really compounding the problems with people having to deal with grief and trauma as well as their own substance use.”

The opioid crisis has hit Lethbridge harder than some other cities in the province.

Lethbridge has the highest per capita drug poisoning deaths of any municipality tracked by the Government of Alberta.

The city’s per 100,000 overdose death rate of 137.5 is more than double second place Medicine Hat's rate of 63.7.

“That's only the people who have died,” said Heidi Reinke, Lethbridge program and education coordinator from the Alberta Alliance Who Educates and Advocates Responsibly (AAWEAR).

“That's not an accurate reflection of how many overdoses have happened. Looking at the numbers they're all the illegal drug supply none of them are prescribed.”

The UCP government said it has made combatting addictions one of its top priorities.

“We support access to on-demand treatment through the virtual opioid dependency program with no fees and no waitlist,” the press secretary for the office of the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions said in a statement.

“We’ve increased access to treatment province-wide with over 10,000 new annual treatment spaces since 2019."

Critics of the government's handling of the opioid crisis are calling for immediate action to stop overdose deaths.

Some are calling for a regulated drug supply, so users won't be exposed to toxic drugs.

“Ideally we'd like to see a safe supply. So a regulated supply of opioids which is the primary concern instead of the tainted drug supply people are finding on the streets,” said Jensen.

Fentanyl is the leading cause of opioid deaths, it's been involved in 93 per cent of opioid deaths in Alberta this year.