opioid crisis

Three people died from opioid overdoses in Red Deer in April, according to the Alberta Substance Use Surveillance System (Black Press file photo)

Fewer opioid-related deaths in Red Deer in April

‘Unfortunately one month does not signify a trend’

 

FILE - Deb Walker visits the grave of her daughter, Brooke Goodwin, Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021, in Chester, Vt. Goodwin, 23, died in March of 2021 of a fatal overdose of the powerful opioid fentanyl and xylazine, an animal tranquilizer that is making its way into the illicit drug supply. According to provisional data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday, May 11, 2022, more than 107,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in 2021, setting another tragic record in the nation’s escalating overdose epidemic. (AP Photo/Lisa Rathke, File)

US overdose deaths hit record 107,000 last year, CDC says

US overdose deaths hit record 107,000 last year, CDC says

 

Sheila Malcolmson speaks with the media in Ottawa on Thursday, Nov. 30, 2017. British Columbia has ditched a controversial plan forcing youth to undergo treatment for up to seven days after an overdose. The mental health and addictions minister said concerns about the potential negative impact of the proposed legislation put forward in July 2020 led the province to consult further with First Nations, families, health-care experts and drug users.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

B.C. scraps controversial plan to involuntarily treat youth after overdose

B.C. scraps controversial plan to involuntarily treat youth after overdose

 

Newly appointed Minister of Community and Social Services Jason Luan takes the oath during a cabinet shuffle at Government House in Edmonton on Thursday, July 8, 2021.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

Confusion after Alberta government halted overdose prevention pilot: emails

‘I’ll admit I’m a bit lost here as to what is happening’

Newly appointed Minister of Community and Social Services Jason Luan takes the oath during a cabinet shuffle at Government House in Edmonton on Thursday, July 8, 2021.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
FILE - Laura Levine prepares to register a new client at Vocal NY, an organization that works with addicts, where she is the health educator and coordinator for the opioid reversal drug Narcan, in the Brooklyn borough of New York, on Friday, March 15, 2019. A deepening opioid epidemic is prompting the U.S. Department of Justice to warn about discrimination against those who are taking medication to wean themselves off their addiction. In guidelines published Tuesday, April 5, 2022, the DOJ said employers, health care providers, jails and others cannot discriminate against people because they are taking prescribed drugs to treat opioid use disorder. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

US: Discrimination based on opioid treatment violates law

US: Discrimination based on opioid treatment violates law

FILE - Laura Levine prepares to register a new client at Vocal NY, an organization that works with addicts, where she is the health educator and coordinator for the opioid reversal drug Narcan, in the Brooklyn borough of New York, on Friday, March 15, 2019. A deepening opioid epidemic is prompting the U.S. Department of Justice to warn about discrimination against those who are taking medication to wean themselves off their addiction. In guidelines published Tuesday, April 5, 2022, the DOJ said employers, health care providers, jails and others cannot discriminate against people because they are taking prescribed drugs to treat opioid use disorder. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)
B.C. chief coroner Lisa Lapointe pauses while speaking about the overdose crisis for deaths involving fentanyl-laced drugs in Vancouver on Wednesday September 21, 2016. A new report reviewing thousands of illicit drug deaths over a four-year period will be released today by the coroner. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Panel calls for urgent action on safer drug supply in B.C. to prevent overdoses

Panel calls for urgent action on safer drug supply in B.C. to prevent overdoses

B.C. chief coroner Lisa Lapointe pauses while speaking about the overdose crisis for deaths involving fentanyl-laced drugs in Vancouver on Wednesday September 21, 2016. A new report reviewing thousands of illicit drug deaths over a four-year period will be released today by the coroner. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
B.C. Chief coroner Lisa Lapointe speaks during a news conference in the press gallery at the Legislature in Victoria, Monday, Nov. 1, 2021. Lapointe says the old way of preventing overdoses by making them a crime isn't working. There were 2,224 suspected overdoses deaths from toxic drugs in B.C. last year. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito

B.C. coroner’s report shows illicit toxic drug deaths highest ever in 2021

B.C. coroner’s report shows illicit toxic drug deaths highest ever in 2021

B.C. Chief coroner Lisa Lapointe speaks during a news conference in the press gallery at the Legislature in Victoria, Monday, Nov. 1, 2021. Lapointe says the old way of preventing overdoses by making them a crime isn't working. There were 2,224 suspected overdoses deaths from toxic drugs in B.C. last year. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito
File - Supplies are shown on a desk at Safer Inside, a realistic model of a safe injection site in San Francisco, Aug. 29, 2018. The Justice Department is signaling it might be open to allowing so-called safe injection sites, or safe havens for people to use heroin and other narcotics with protections against fatal overdoses. The department's stance comes a year after federal prosecutors won a major court ruling that found the sites would violate federal law. The Justice Department tells The Associated Press it is talking to regulators about “appropriate guardrails” for the sites. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)

Justice Dept. signals it may allow safe injection sites

Justice Dept. signals it may allow safe injection sites

File - Supplies are shown on a desk at Safer Inside, a realistic model of a safe injection site in San Francisco, Aug. 29, 2018. The Justice Department is signaling it might be open to allowing so-called safe injection sites, or safe havens for people to use heroin and other narcotics with protections against fatal overdoses. The department's stance comes a year after federal prosecutors won a major court ruling that found the sites would violate federal law. The Justice Department tells The Associated Press it is talking to regulators about “appropriate guardrails” for the sites. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)
Then-Alberta Jobs Minister Lori Sigurdson appears at the legislature in Edmonton on Monday, June 29, 2015. NDP Opposition members are resigning from a committee to examine safe drug supply over, calling the committee a "political stunt" by the government instead of meaningful work to address spiking drug overdose deaths. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Dean Bennett

‘Political stunt’: NDP members resign from Alberta safe drug supply committee

‘Political stunt’: NDP members resign from Alberta safe drug supply committee

Then-Alberta Jobs Minister Lori Sigurdson appears at the legislature in Edmonton on Monday, June 29, 2015. NDP Opposition members are resigning from a committee to examine safe drug supply over, calling the committee a "political stunt" by the government instead of meaningful work to address spiking drug overdose deaths. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Dean Bennett
FILE - Actor Michael K. Williams poses for a portrait at the Beverly Hilton during the 2016 Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour on July 30, 2016, in Beverly Hills, Calif. A federal prosecutor says four men have been charged in the overdose death of Williams, who gained fame playing Omar Little on "The Wire." New York City’s medical examiner earlier ruled that the 54-year-old Williams died of acute drug intoxication in September. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

4 charged after overdose death of actor Michael K. Williams

4 charged after overdose death of actor Michael K. Williams

FILE - Actor Michael K. Williams poses for a portrait at the Beverly Hilton during the 2016 Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour on July 30, 2016, in Beverly Hills, Calif. A federal prosecutor says four men have been charged in the overdose death of Williams, who gained fame playing Omar Little on "The Wire." New York City’s medical examiner earlier ruled that the 54-year-old Williams died of acute drug intoxication in September. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

Two powerful drugs now adding to US overdose crisis

Two powerful drugs now adding to US overdose crisis

A shoulder patch on a correctional officer is shown at the Collins Bay Institution in Kingston, Ont., on Tuesday, May 10, 2016. The Correctional Service of Canada said it is working to provide timely access to addiction treatment after settling a human rights complaint launched in 2018. THE CANADIAN/Lars Hagberg

Correctional Service settles human rights case for prisoners addicted to opioids

Correctional Service settles human rights case for prisoners addicted to opioids

A shoulder patch on a correctional officer is shown at the Collins Bay Institution in Kingston, Ont., on Tuesday, May 10, 2016. The Correctional Service of Canada said it is working to provide timely access to addiction treatment after settling a human rights complaint launched in 2018. THE CANADIAN/Lars Hagberg
The Alberta Substance Use Surveillance System shows 148 opioid-related deaths in Alberta during October. (Black Press file photo)

Opioid-related death rate climbs in Red Deer

34 deaths reported in Red Deer in first 10 months of 2021

The Alberta Substance Use Surveillance System shows 148 opioid-related deaths in Alberta during October. (Black Press file photo)
FILE - In this Aug. 9, 2021, file photo, fake pill bottles with messages about OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma are displayed during a protest outside the courthouse where the bankruptcy of the company is taking place in White Plains, N.Y. A federal judge on Thursday, Dec. 16, 2021, has rejected OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy settlement of thousands of lawsuits over the opioid epidemic because of a provision that would protect members of the Sackler family from facing litigation of their own. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

Judge rejects Purdue Pharma’s sweeping opioid settlement

Judge rejects Purdue Pharma’s sweeping opioid settlement

FILE - In this Aug. 9, 2021, file photo, fake pill bottles with messages about OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma are displayed during a protest outside the courthouse where the bankruptcy of the company is taking place in White Plains, N.Y. A federal judge on Thursday, Dec. 16, 2021, has rejected OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy settlement of thousands of lawsuits over the opioid epidemic because of a provision that would protect members of the Sackler family from facing litigation of their own. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
A hand-held device showing the loading screen for the Alberta Digital Overdose Response System mobile application is shown alongside a Naloxone emergency overdose treatment kit in a photo illustration in Toronto on Monday, Dec. 6, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Giordano Ciampini

‘Does this save lives?’ Concerns raised about Alberta overdose response app

‘Does this save lives?’ Concerns raised about Alberta overdose response app

A hand-held device showing the loading screen for the Alberta Digital Overdose Response System mobile application is shown alongside a Naloxone emergency overdose treatment kit in a photo illustration in Toronto on Monday, Dec. 6, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Giordano Ciampini
A man waits to enter the Safeworks supervised consumption site at the Sheldon M. Chumir Health Centre in Calgary on Thursday, Aug. 26, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Calgary and Edmonton see spike in opioid-related emergency medical calls

Calgary and Edmonton see spike in opioid-related emergency medical calls

A man waits to enter the Safeworks supervised consumption site at the Sheldon M. Chumir Health Centre in Calgary on Thursday, Aug. 26, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health Carolyn Bennett at a news conference in Ottawa on Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

Minister Bennett says national opioid crisis plan to be informed by proposals in B.C.

Minister Bennett says national opioid crisis plan to be informed by proposals in B.C.

Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health Carolyn Bennett at a news conference in Ottawa on Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
FILE - Author Patrick Radden Keefe testifies before a House Oversight Committee hearing on legislation inspired by the bankruptcy case of Purdue Pharma and the members of the wealthy Sackler family that own it, on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, June 8, 2021, in Washington. Keefe's book, “Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty,” about a wealthy American family whose actions helped unleash the United States’ opioid epidemic, won Britain’s leading nonfiction book prize Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

Book about Sackler family and opioid crisis wins UK prize

Book about Sackler family and opioid crisis wins UK prize

FILE - Author Patrick Radden Keefe testifies before a House Oversight Committee hearing on legislation inspired by the bankruptcy case of Purdue Pharma and the members of the wealthy Sackler family that own it, on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, June 8, 2021, in Washington. Keefe's book, “Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty,” about a wealthy American family whose actions helped unleash the United States’ opioid epidemic, won Britain’s leading nonfiction book prize Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

Trudeau urged to make decriminalization of illicit drugs a priority

Trudeau urged to make decriminalization of illicit drugs a priority

Attorneys and staff associated with a federal trial of pharmacies, CVS, Walgreens, Giant Eagle and Walmart, leave the Carl B. Stokes Federal Courthouse in Cleveland, Monday, Oct. 4, 2021. The pharmacies are being sued by Ohio counties Lake and Trumbull for their part in the opioid crisis. (AP Photo/Phil Long)

Trial against pharmacy chains’ opioid sales begins

Trial against pharmacy chains’ opioid sales begins

Attorneys and staff associated with a federal trial of pharmacies, CVS, Walgreens, Giant Eagle and Walmart, leave the Carl B. Stokes Federal Courthouse in Cleveland, Monday, Oct. 4, 2021. The pharmacies are being sued by Ohio counties Lake and Trumbull for their part in the opioid crisis. (AP Photo/Phil Long)