(The Canadian Press)

By Derek Craddock

OPIOIDS

New report shows astronomical increase of Sask. opioid deaths in first year of COVID pandemic

Apr 22, 2024 | 5:00 PM

A new report shows that a crisis affecting thousands of Saskatchewan people got incredibly worse during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) published a study last week showing the number of opioid-related deaths nationwide from 2019-2021.

In that period, the number of opioid-related deaths increased from 3,007 to 6,222 and years of life lost rose from 126,115 to 256,336.

For Saskatchewan, the numbers went from roughly 109 opioid-related deaths in 2019 to over 320 just two years later.

Currently, the Saskatchewan Coroners Service has reported 87 drug toxicity deaths so far this year, with 21 confirmed.

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The Saskatchwewan Coroners Service stats on drug toxicity deaths. (Government of Saskatchewan)

They’re not pleasant numbers according to Holly Mathias, a doctoral student and Vanier scholar in the School of Public Health at the University of Alberta.

She studied the CMAJ report and said it highlighted some big points including how drastic the numbers are rising.

Mathias also mentioned the number of young people dying from opioids is staggering.

“We now know that around one in four deaths among people between the ages of 20 to 29 and 30 to 39 are now represented by opioid-related deaths and so that’s very concerning because these people who are around this age group are really should be in the prime of their lives where they’re working and perhaps having families really developing who they’re going to be throughout the trajectory of their life and we’re just seeing that so many Canadians now, so many young Canadians are dying because of the toxic drug supply,” she said.

Saskatchewan’s numbers from the CMAJ report that almost 30 per cent of the opioid deaths from 2019 to 2021 were 20-29 years old.

A graph shows the proportion of opioid-related deaths from 2019-2020 based on age. (Canadian Medical Association Journal)

The CMAJ and the Coroners Service acknowledged that fentanyl was, and still is, the most common opioid resulting in these deaths.

Provincial data showed that opioid deaths resulting from fentanyl increased 281.4 per cent from 2019 to 2020, with COVID-19 and government restrictions playing a role.

“We know that a service delivery such as harm reduction and treatment services were impacted during that time and so access to those services in some cases were limited and that would also impact what we’re seeing here in terms of deaths,” Mathias said.

So, what needs to happen to ensure these outrageous numbers don’t grow any further?

Mathias said the solution shouldn’t be narrowed down to a single person or group.

“What we need is a coordinated effort across all government levels, so, it’s not just a provincial issue or federal issue or municipal issue, but we really need to work together across all levels of government in all sectors to be able to really address what’s going on in our communities and so that could look like scaling up evidence-based services,” she said. “Things like harm reduction programs, treatment services, especially with the target on making things more accessible to these key demographics that we’re seeing come out of the data in this report.”

She also mentioned there must be serious talks about prevention and addressing the underlying causes of opioid use. This includes talks about housing, employment, and creating more supportive and healthier communities.

“It’s not just a health problem or a city problem, but it is a social problem, a community problem and something that we need all hand -on deck to really address,” she said.

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derek.craddock@pattisonmedia.com