In 2023, RCMP attended to double the quantity of overdose incidents as compared to the preceding year.
The Alberta RCMP reported a surge of over 100 percent in the overdose cases they addressed in 2023 in contrast to the prior year. As of Wednesday, the Alberta RCMP disclosed that they had attended to 1,026 suspected drug overdoses from January 2023 to November 2023, marking a substantial increase from the 511 incidents recorded throughout the entirety of 2022.
It’s important to note that responding to overdose calls is not exclusive to the RCMP; other entities, such as local police jurisdictions like the Calgary Police Service and Edmonton Police Service, as well as Alberta Health Services, also play a role in addressing overdose incidents.
As per information obtained from the province’s substance use surveillance system, between January and September 2023, a total of 1,411 individuals have succumbed to opioid poisoning deaths. The surveillance system is regularly updated as data is received from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
According to the RCMP, a significant number of these overdoses are attributed, at least in part, to the adulteration of Alberta’s fentanyl supply with other substances that are more readily available and cost-effective. This situation necessitates a higher quantity of naloxone doses to effectively counteract the life-threatening effects. Naloxone, also recognized as Narcan, is capable of reversing the effects of opioids and halting an overdose.
“We’re just trying to kind of give that warning to people that there are some other aspects that we’re seeing now. There’s other things being mixed in. It’s not always going to be your normal fentanyl dose. It’s not always going to be just fentanyl,” Howell said.
“Unfortunately, the fentanyl supply is so volatile and so unpredictable that people are struggling with just the dosage rates,” said Euan Thomson, an independent Calgary researcher who writes the Drug Data Decoded newsletter.
He mentioned that the absence of regulation makes it difficult to precisely identify the contents of street drugs, leaving room for potential inclusions such as rat poison, sugars, caffeine, and benzodiazepines.
Additionally, he emphasized that certain cases of fentanyl poisonings may now demand higher doses of naloxone than before. Nevertheless, he encouraged individuals to persist in carrying and using naloxone as a precautionary measure.
