Fentanyl detected in Toronto’s sewer system more than triples in pandemic, federal survey finds
The amount of fentanyl detected in Toronto’s wastewater supply has tripled during the COVID-19 pandemic as use of other drugs also rose substantially, according to a government survey of sewage in several major Canadian cities.
Government scientists analyzed what people in Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, Edmonton and Vancouver were putting down the drains to get a show of how the increase in drug consumption was nationwide, which could be a factor in the surge of deaths related to the toxic opioid drug supply.
“If you compare it to Olympic athletes, it’s like a urine test, but at a population level,” said Professor Viviane Yargeau at McGill University.
The biggest increase was in Toronto, which saw a 207 per cent increase in fentanyl detected when comparing tests between March and July of 2020 to the same period the year before. Methamphetamines detected in the city’s sewers jumped 48 per cent, while Cannabis jumped 27 per cent.
Edmonton also saw detectable fentanyl surge by 108 per cent, and Vancouver’s fentanyl also jumped 66 per cent.
The Canadian Wastewater Survey showed that different cities appeared to prefer different drugs. Cannabis was highest in Halifax at 742 grams per million people per day.
Methamphetamines were highest in Edmonton at 1,244 grams per million people per day, and fentanyl was highest in Vancouver, at 20 grams per million people per day, a province where opioid deaths have prompted it to declare a state of emergency.
“During a crisis, because there’s anxiety, everyone is having anxiety issues, and so all of the issues that we’re going through, people with drugs are going through,” said Michelle Joseph, the CEO of Unison Health and Community Services.
But with a toxic drug supply, deaths are up too, by 78 per cent to 521 in Toronto. On top of that, the public health advice that has been to stay home during the pandemic has meant higher mortality because more drug users are using alone and don’t have anyone to prevent an overdose using naloxone.
Harm reduction outreach worker Wayne Duhaney says he makes harm reduction kits with needles, sterile water, tourniquets and other items to prevent disease spreading. Unison Health also has a supply of naloxone it gives to users in the hopes they can use it to counteract an overdose while at home.
“It might be a statistic but I know their names. I grew up with them. It definitely hurts,” Duhaney told CTV News Toronto.
Staff say the kits are not substitute for a supervised injection site, where a nurse can watch a drug user inject and revive them in an emergency, preventing their death. The service is available in Toronto, but as much as an hour away by transit from Unison’s community, at Lawrence and Avenue Roads.
The centre is applying for a federal exemption to run its own supervised injection site, but faces funding barriers and the issue that the number of supervised injection sites in Ontario remains capped at 21.
“We would really like in Northwest Toronto to have a much wider spectrum of harm reduction, and right now we are extremely limited,” Joseph said.
Ontario’s health minister says the government has put $32.7 million into addiction treatment to help people recover post pandemic.
“Unfortunately these fatalities are increasing so investing more in mental health is equally as important and we are taking action on both,” she told reporters Wednesday.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
BREAKING Ottawa public school board, 3 Toronto-area school boards launch lawsuit against social media giants
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and three school boards in the Toronto-area have launched legal action against social media giants, accusing them of "disrupting students' fundamental right to education."
Doctors visiting a Gaza hospital are stunned by the war's toll on Palestinian children
An international team of doctors visiting a hospital in central Gaza was prepared for the worst. But the gruesome impact Israel’s war against Hamas is having on Palestinian children still left them stunned.
Crypt near Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner could fetch US$400,000 at auction
A one-space mausoleum crypt in the vicinity of Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner will go on auction Saturday, when it is expected to reach between US$200,000 and $400,000.
This Toronto restaurant is no longer accepting tips. Here's how it's going
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff – tipping is no longer accepted.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Premiers not being truthful about carbon tax, Trudeau says while sparks fly in Ottawa
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Conservative premiers across the country are 'not telling the truth' when it comes to the carbon tax. Trudeau's comments came as fresh sparks were flying in Ottawa at a recalled House of Commons committee.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
What new auto insurance reforms will mean for Ontarians, if they get introduced
Ontario has among the highest rates for auto insurance premiums in Canada -- just below Alberta and Nova Scotia -- however, the introduction of an insurance reform in the provincial budget could soon lower prices.