The numbers are pretty grim: 400 people overdosing from fentanyl and dying in Alberta between January and September of 2017. That’s a 40 per cent increase over the same time last year.
“We’re attacking this from every single angle that we can, but it keeps rearing its ugly head,” Alberta Health Services (AHS) medical health officer Dr. Nick Etchel said.
READ MORE: 3 to 4 people die every day in Alberta from opioids: Calgary police chief
But the situation isn’t black and white. Neither is the solution.
What’s being done
There have been some significant steps taken over the past year to try to gain the upper hand in the fight against fentanyl.
A safe injection site opened in Calgary in November with nearly 1,000 people accessing it in the first month.
The province has made access to the antidote naloxone free and easy; anyone can pick up a naloxone kit at almost any pharmacy or walk-in clinic by simply asking. People don’t have to provide personal information unless they want to. So far, more than 30,000 kits have been handed out and more than 2,000 successfully used to reverse an overdose.
Alberta Health Services’ website also provides in-depth information and tools to prevent overdoses along with treatment options for those struggling with addiction.
Uphill battle
Etchel admits the crisis isn’t getting better and in terms of fatalities, it’s only getting worse.
“I think it’s suffice to say it’s not relenting.”
As a retired doctor, Calgary-Mountain View MLA Dr. David Swann has a vested interest in the opioid fight. He believes frontline workers are doing the best they can we with resources they have, but that more needs to be done.
“This is well beyond the healthcare system,” Swann said.
“We need to get a handle on all the mental health issues if we are going to get this.”
Swann believes we need more collaboration between health and mental health and “stronger, more focused leadership on mental health and addictions.”
Etchel also says there are holes in the system.
“The main issue is just making sure that the different types of care that are available…are all connected with one another. And with a large variety of service providers we have in the province that can be a challenge, but I know it’s been actively worked on.”
Swann is also pushing for accountability — on both the provincial and federal levels — calling for more openness and clarity about where the millions of dollars committed to combat the crisis are going.
Overdosing behind closed doors
Alberta health officials say one of the biggest misconceptions about the fentanyl crisis surrounds who is fatally overdosing and where.
It’s not only avid drug users falling victim, and most deadly overdoses aren’t happening on the streets.
According to the latest Alberta Health statistics, 67 per cent of fatal opioid overdoses happen at the person’s home.
Jessica Holtsbaum lost her older brother, Nathan, to a fentanyl overdose. He became addicted after a doctor prescribed him opioids to ease the pain from a back injury.
“Everyone that has been lost out there is somebody’s someone. And he was our someone and he’s not here anymore,” Holtsbaum said.
READ MORE: Calgary pharmacist charged after 33,000 opioid tablets stolen from Okotoks pharmacy
Stories like Nathan’s are now becoming all too common. Holtsbaum started the not-for-profit Changing the Face of Addiction to try to educate families and those struggling with addictions before it’s too late.
“We are fighting for everyone like him. We don’t want other families go through this.”
What’s next?
One of the biggest struggles for AHS in the ongoing opioid crisis might come as a surprise to some: stigma.
“Really, as a society, we have understand people who use drugs are people,” Etchel said. “They are part of our families, part of our communities and they deserve compassion, respect, care.”
Etchel said those struggling with addiction who feel judged are less likely to come forward and therefore less likely to seek out help.
Advocates like Holtsbaum are trying to change that by making victims much more than just statistics. They’re sharing personal stories and putting a face to the deadly crisis.
“These are people with families who love them. People with struggles that are unseen and we need to start talking more about this.”
But first, health officials and advocates say we as a society have to realize addiction is not a choice.
According to Etchel, “we really need to recognize this is a medical condition.”
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