By Scott Roblin

Yearly overdose calls up 20 percent for Medicine Hat Police

Oct 3, 2018 | 4:34 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – In the span of just a few months, Medicine Hat Police have seen the number of overdoses in the community skyrocket.

On Tuesday, another death in the community was reported in the 1100 block of Elm Street Southeast just after 6:00 pm.

According to investigators they suspect the cause of death was related to a drug overdose, but results of a formal autopsy are still pending.

The home is located just a block away from what multiple residents believe to be a suspected drug house, however police haven’t found any connection between the property and Tuesday’s death. There is also no word on what drug may have been responsible for the incident.

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Insp. Tim McGough with Medicine Hat Police said over the last year or so they’ve been seeing more and more overdoses related to opioids.

“It’s just indicative of the issue that we have in the community, and we’re no different from any community,” said McGough. “But, we certainly do have an issue around accidental overdoses when it comes to opioids be it fentanyl, heroin.”

Officers have been seizing either heroin or fentanyl on city streets almost daily, with the department classifying Medicine Hat’s drug situation last week as a crisis.

McGough said it’s tough to pin down exactly which drugs are entering the marketplace faster than others, as their toxicology reports take between six and eight months to get back.

“It doesn’t always specifically drill down into which part of the opioid family, whether it’s a pharmaceutical type, whether it’s heroin, or whether it’s fentanyl,” he said.

Police are also reporting a 20 percent increase in the number of overdose related calls they’ve attended to over the past year.

In 2017, officers responded to 86 overdoses in Medicine Hat which resulted in five deaths. That number has jumped to 108 overdoses and six deaths from January 1 to October 2, representing a span of just over nine months.

Meanwhile, two of those deaths and 11 overdoses have occurred over a 25-day span between September 1 and September 25.

McGough said police are still trying to determine why they’ve been seeing such a major spike over the last few weeks.

“We can’t really arrest our way out of this problem, police can’t be the panacea to the drug ails of the community,” he said. “So, the community and other areas need to step up and provide the resources for people who are addicted.”

McGough added the opioid crisis isn’t something they can just arrest their way out of, as community partners will be needed towards finding a way to end the cycle of addiction.