Alberta opioid deaths continue to decline from record high last year

Opioid deaths in Alberta continue to drop from their peak last year, according to the latest provincial statistics.

In September, 69 opioid deaths were reported, compared to 146 deaths in September 2023.

This represents the eighth consecutive month-over-month decrease.

The Alberta substance use surveillance system, shows a 38 per cent drop in opioid-related fatalities during the first nine months of this year, down to 886 from 1,430 during the same period last year.

The numbers are preliminary, however, and likely to change. It can take six months or longer for the medical examiner to determine a cause of death due to backlogs.

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"In some of the communities where I work, there's less funerals, a lot less funerals," said Dr. John Webb, who practices addictions medicine in Standoff and Lethbridge, Alta.

"We don't know for certain what's caused the decrease in mortality and we can't say for certain what else we could do to continue that trend."

While there are likely a number of contributing factors, based on what he's hearing from patients, Webb believes the drug supply is becoming less potent.

"It's still a lot of people dying, it's just that we reached this new normal that was quite a nightmare. So it's a reduction, but every death from drug overdose is a tragedy," he said.

Similar trends elsewhere

Calgary-based nurse practitioner Patty Wilson treats many patients with addictions. 

"It continues to be unregulated drugs that are causing the deaths," she said.

She's been watching as other jurisdictions, including B.C. and Saskatchewan, also report a drop in drug fatalities.

"To my understanding a lot of the drug supply is very similar among those provinces. And so if we're seeing that drug supply stabilize — become less unpredictable — then we would expect to see those numbers decrease," Wilson said.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control is also reporting a reduction in overdose deaths.

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'Encouraging trend'

"This is an encouraging trend and says very clearly Alberta is headed in the right direction," Dan Williams, Alberta's Minister of Mental Health and Addiction, said in an email shared with CBC News.

Williams credited his government's move toward recovery-oriented care.

"We continue to build our model to bring more access to treatment for families and individuals dealing with the pain brought on by addiction," the statement said, in part.

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"It is clear why other jurisdictions are following the Alberta Recovery Model and rejecting the failed policies that facilitate addiction, like unsafe supply. Our model is helping people get healthy, helping them overcome their addiction, rebuild their lives, and reunite with their family, community, and culture."

Williams said the province will be opening the fourth of 11 recovery communities soon and said the province's Virtual Opioid Dependency Program is available at no cost and has no wait list.

For her part, Wilson said that, while more treatment beds are important, she doesn't believe the Alberta government's shift to a recovery model is responsible for the reduction in deaths, which is being seen in other jurisdictions.

"We're not in an addiction crisis, we're in a toxic drug crisis," she said.