gslade@medicinehatnews.com@MHNGillianSlade
According to the most recent Opioid Response Surveillance Report the number of apparent accidental fentanyl poisoning deaths has dropped to the level the south zone experienced in 2017 after a peak in 2018.
The rate of apparent accidental fentanyl poisonings per 100,000 person years by municipality is indicating a similar trend.
In Medicine Hat there were 12 in 2018. In the first half of 2019 that number was four, and if the trend continues it could be eight for the year.
Apparent accidental drug poisoning deaths related to an opioid other than fentanyl in Medicine Hat currently stands at zero for 2019. The number was four in 2018, three in 2017 and four in 2016.
The proportion of fentanyl poisoning deaths where “methamphetamine” was also listed as causing death was 1.8 times higher in 2019 compared to 2016.
The Medicine Hat Police Service expects double the amount of methamphetamine to be seized this year compared to last.
A total of 2,111 grams were seized in 2018, while this year is on pace for 4,479, with nearly 3,000 having already been seized. Drug seizures do not necessarily provide the best picture of drug activity in the community but it is the best picture available, police say.
Supervised consumption site statistics for Edmonton, Calgary, Lethbridge and Grande Prairie:
First quarter 2019: January to March – 94,614 visits, 1,849 average monthly “unique clients,” 863 overdoses attended to.
Second quarter 2019: April to June – 94,214 visits, 2,120 average monthly “unique clients,” 801 overdoses attended to.
Proposed but currently on hold supervised consumption site for City of Medicine Hat
HIV Community Link revealed in January that it had signed a leased for a site in Medicine Hat.
After the UCP government came to power in May a hold was placed on the development of any site not already operating.
The proposed site, 502 S. Railway St., stands unused while a panel reviews SCS and reports back to the government probably by the end of the year or early 2020.
There has been no response to previous requests to HIV Community Link to comment on who is paying the rent for the duration of the lease while the site is not operating.
The press secretary for the minister of health says HIV Community Link was given $900,000 by the previous NDP government for start-up costs.
“Our understanding is they are paying the lease with those funds. Our government will decide on future funding for this site and other proposed new SCSs based on the findings of the review that is currently underway.”
The former NDP government had estimated operating costs for the SCS in Medicine Hat would be about $2 million every year.
