Opioids behind growing number of deaths across Canada

These numbers certainly catch your attention, especially as the drug toxicity crisis continues across Canada. Researchers looked at data from 9 provinces and territories and found opioid related deaths doubled among younger adults between 2019 and 2021. During that time, deaths increased from just over 3000 to more than 6200. Tara Gomes is the principal investigator of the Ontario Drug Policy Research Network and senior author on this study. She says that time frame included the peak of strict pandemic lockdowns where access to harm reduction services became limited. Many community based programs had reduced hours and people became more likely to use drugs alone because of social distancing. We expected that these deaths would climb in the pandemic. I’m not sure we expected that they would stay high for as long as they have because we are still, even into late 2023 and early 2024, seen death rates across Canada that are much higher than the rates that we were seeing in 2019 is really difficult because for those of us working in this space, we’re seeing people die every single day. And I can’t explain enough how devastating it is to see those deaths and we know they can be avoided. The research showed opioid related deaths were higher in Ontario and towards the West, driven by fentanyl and similar drugs. But there’s growing concern that those toxic drugs are now becoming more common in Quebec and the Atlantic provinces too. Catherine Ward, Global News, Toronto.