‘We’re talking about children’: Manitoba on track to set record for drug-related deaths – APTN
Nov 15, 2021
In Manitoba, overdoses in the first six months of 2021 have put the province on pace to set a record for drug-related deaths and advocates are saying this crisis could be made less deadly.
The first half of 2021 saw 199 people die drug-related deaths according to the office of the chief medical examiner and if the pace keeps up, advocates say Manitoba will surpass last year’s death total of 374.
Arlene Last-Kolb is co-founder of Overdose Awareness Manitoba. She says she isn’t surprised by the numbers.
“There’s many reasons that I’m not surprised, one of the reasons I’m not surprised is because of Covid, the effects it’s had on people that use substances,” said Last-Kolb. “There’s been an increase in use in all substances. Also too, we know that fentanyl is still on the street and until we address that we are not going to be able to stop what’s happening here. Most of these deaths are from a toxic street supply so until we actually have a conversation about that, the numbers will keep rising.
“I’m always here to remind people that we’re talking about loved ones. We’re talking about children.”
Last-Kolb says safe supply and safe injection sites are a few ways the deaths can be reduced
