Alberta had 118 drug poisoning deaths in May, the same as April, but well above pre-pandemic levels, said the Alberta Substance Use Surveillance System on Monday. .The Alberta Substance Use Surveillance System said the death rate from drug poisoning was 30.9 per 100,000 people..This data revealed 116 of the 118 drug-related deaths in May were opioid fatalities, up one from April. The death rate for opioids was 30.4 per 100,000 people. .The municipality with the most drug overdoses was Edmonton at 46 deaths. This was followed by Calgary (36) and Lethbridge and Grande Prairie (5). .Alberta saw a drop in drug overdoses this year, with deaths continuing to decline or stagnate since January’s high of 173. .This May had the lowest for this month since 2019. May 2019 saw 75 drug overdose deaths. .The data said the people most affected by drug overdoses this year were males aged 35 to 39 with 88 deaths. This was followed by males aged 30 to 34 (75), males 40 to 44 (72), and males 45 to 49 (65). .According to the data, fentanyl was found in 85% of drug overdose deaths. Methamphetamine was detected in 53% of these deaths, carfentanil in 34%, and cocaine in 17%. .Alberta was able to reduce drug overdoses because it adopted a recovery approach, and British Columbia is failing due to it prioritizing harm reduction. .READ MORE: BRADLEY: Alberta’s drug overdoses going down, British Columbia’s skyrocketing.Alberta adopted a recovery approach by creating a drug overdose prevention app in 2021. .Called Digital Overdose Response System, the app is meant to protect people using drugs while alone in their homes..British Columbia engaged in harm reduction through safe supply, becoming the first province in Canada to introduce such a measure in 2021. .British Columbia is directing up to $22.6 million to health authorities for the next three years for this policy. This funding will be used for planning, phased implementation, and monitoring of safe supply programs.
