There was one reported drug death in Medicine Hat in the first quarter of 2024, according to provincial figures. Oksana Ermak/Dreamstime.com

By Eli J. Ridder, David Opinko

Medicine Hat drug deaths on decline so far this year

Jul 4, 2024 | 3:14 PM

One person has died to drug use in Medicine Hat so far in 2024, trending towards an average year-over-year decline in acute substance deaths for the first time since 2020, according to newly released data from the Alberta government.

The one reported death was in January, and is lower than the eight reported during Q1 of 2023, four reported during the same time period in 2022 and 11 in 2021.

In 2020, there was one Q1 death in March. It occurred in the late person’s private residence, according to provincial figures.

READ: Alberta reports fewer overdose deaths in Lethbridge

It was a similar picture provincially as early 2024’s numbers are less than the past two years but still well above the ten-year average.

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Across Alberta, 355 residents lost their lives from January to the end of March 2024, compared to the record-breaking peaks of 442 in 2023 and 461 in 2022.

Medicine Hat experienced 38 deaths in 2023, 20 in 2022 and 36 in 2021, over double the average the four years prior.

Full figures can be viewed on the Alberta substance use surveillance system page.