Rallies were held across Canada, including in Calgary and Edmonton, demanding concrete action to stop the spike in fentanyl overdose deaths on Tuesday.
The National Day of Action on the Overdose Crisis was organized by the Canadian Association of People Who Use Drugs (CAPUD).
“People are dying and there’s not a lot being done,” Chelsea Burnham said. She was a heroin addict and now works as an addictions outreach worker in Calgary.
“They try something once and they’re hooked. It’s just recreational at first and it turns into an addiction. That’s what happened with me.”
READ MORE: Alberta considers radical new approach to battling fentanyl
Last year in Alberta, 343 people died from apparent fentanyl overdoses, up from 257 in 2015 and 117 in 2014.
“It’s a very terrifying time to use drugs right now.”
Jessica Holtsbaum lost her brother Nathan Huggins-Rosenthal to a fentanyl overdose last February.
The 35-year-old was a Calgary stockbroker and had recently bought a house with his girlfriend.
“Drugs don’t discriminate,” Holtsbaum said. “He had a back injury and he was prescribed OxyContin. And things just went down from there.”
“My brother did not aspire to be a drug addict. Everyone that is using drugs, they’re people too.
“They have mothers, they have fathers, they have people that love them and they started somewhere.”
READ MORE: Alberta gives firefighters access to naloxone kits as fentanyl overdose deaths rise
Burnham said she’d like to see supervised consumption sites open up across the country.
Alberta has been inching towards the idea. Last fall, the province said it would explore the idea of setting up medically-supervised injection services. It still needs federal approval under current drug laws.
“You can go to many pharmacies and access a naloxone kit but more needs to be done. It’s still not enough. People are still dying,” Burnham said.
READ MORE: Edmonton councillors to discuss safe-injection sites
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