the research led by marshall, a doctoral candidate, and u of a psychiatry professor andrew greenshaw, also shows that as visits to safe consumption sites decrease due to the covid-19 pandemic, fentanyl-related overdose deaths increased by 118.4 per cent.
the study comes at a time when alberta is facing an overdose crisis. between january and march of this year, 346 albertans died of an accidental opioid overdose, and of those, 109 were in edmonton, the latest provincial data shows.
in late may, three men died together of suspected overdoses in a central edmonton park.
alberta health services also had to issue a public alert after paramedics responded to 55 opioid-related calls over two days in the edmonton zone.
there’s a strong indication that more people are using substances alone during the pandemic, which is a “huge risk factor,” but more data is needed to confirm it, marshall said.
marshall, who has a master’s degree in public health, has been interested in drug policy work and harm reduction for a while. he has also done volunteer work at a harm reduction centre in red deer.
he noted the public might not be aware that safe consumption sites also offer services other than a safe place to use drugs.