Advocates call for better access to harm reduction in Alberta to help 'keep people alive'
Advocates held rallies across Alberta on Wednesday to raise awareness about the drug poisoning crisis plaguing the province.
“This is an all-hands-on-deck situation. There just simply aren’t enough of us,” said Alyssa Miller, co-founder of Boots on Ground, a street outreach and harm-reduction society.
“There really isn’t any relief in sight,” Josh Fanaeian, an emergency physician at the Royal Alexandra Hospital, added.
Edmonton’s overdose rates have gone up disproportionately in comparison to other cities, Petra Schulz, the co-founder of Moms Stop the Harm, said during the rally at the Alberta legislature.
“Harm reduction keeps people alive. To address the toxic drug supply, we need a safe supply,” she said.
Fanaeian told CTV News Edmonton hospital staff are seeing a spike in patients requiring hospital beds and long-term care after an overdose, something that’s becoming a “huge burden on the system.”
“They need help and end up being in the hospital beds for a long time.”
According to Fanaeian, because the drug supply is having a “large fluctuation,” it’s contributing to the increase in drug poisonings.
“People really have no idea what they're getting into,” he said.
“If you’re opioid naïve, never having used opiates before, you’re at much higher risk of dying because of that.”
Miller said she would like to see the government grant easier access to harm-reduction resources and reduce barriers “instead of putting up more for people who use drugs.”
“It’s traumatic for people that are experiencing the poisoning. It’s traumatic for people who are responding to drug poisonings hoping that we can keep people alive.”
Without proper drug-checking services, Miller said they can only “guess” what someone has been poisoned with when attending a callout.
“It’s absolutely preventable,” she said. “That’s the heaviest part of it for us.”
“Toxic street supply doesn’t discriminate. And it’s really important how profoundly negative this is for our city.”
More information on the work that’s being done by advocates can be found here.
With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Jessica Robb
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Lanny McDonald and a few old Flames take the Stanley Cup on a surprise visit to the man who saved his life
The Stanley Cup was passing through town Friday, and Lanny Legend took it upon himself to take it for a surprise visit.
Bathroom break nearly derails $22 million project at city council meeting
A brief break during Wednesday's city council meeting in Saskatoon nearly cost the city dearly.
Chad Daybell sentenced to death for killing wife and girlfriend’s two children in jury decision
Jurors resumed deliberations Saturday on whether a man should be sentenced to death after being convicted days earlier of the murders of his wife and his girlfriend’s two youngest children in Idaho.
Robert Pickton stabbed with toothbrush and broken broom handle: victim's family
The family of one of Robert Pickton's victims says the convicted serial killer suffered an incredibly violent death at the hands of another inmate.
Father who killed one-year-old son with axe may be allowed to travel in southwestern Ontario
A Mennonite father who killed his one-year-old son with an axe may be allowed to travel to parts of southern Ontario in the coming months
'It feels like freedom': Why some Albertans like going nude in nature
Few people can say they accidentally purchased a nude beach — but Shelley can. When she saw a piece of land she could fondly remember camping on was up for sale, she inquired about it and ended up purchasing it. She soon found that there were already inhabitants on it.
This Calgary home has a giant tree in the middle, and it's for sale
There's a luxury 'tree home' for sale in Calgary.
China lands spacecraft on the moon amid growing space rivalry with U.S.
A Chinese spacecraft landed on the far side of the moon Sunday to collect soil and rock samples that could provide insights into differences between the less-explored region and the better-known near side.
Pedestrian dies after being hit by train in Brockville, Ont.
Brockville Police says a pedestrian has died following a collision with a train that was heading to Toronto.