Toronto Public Health warns of spike in overdoses as city experiences 'drug toxicity crisis'

Toronto’s public health unit has issued an alert warning of a spike in opioid-related overdose deaths in the city since Aug. 31.

Toronto Public Health (TPH) says 11 people died of suspected opioid-related overdoes between Aug. 31 and Sept. 6, which the health agency says is double the weekly average for the city.

TPH says there have been recent reports of red and green fentanyl linked to overdoses both in the community and at supervised consumption sites, though specific information about those drugs is not yet available. The city’s drug-checking service, according to a media release from Toronto Public Health, continues to find other highly potent opioids and benzodiazepine-drugs in samples expected to be fentanyl.

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“Overdoses are occurring in a variety of neighbourhoods across the city,” the release says.

The alert comes in the midst of what the city has previously referred to as a “drug toxicity crisis,” with “alarming death rates and devastating community impacts.” Data from the city suggests a 100 per cent increase in opioid-related deaths between 2019 and 2021, the most recent year for which statistics are available.

According to the city, drug toxicity is the leading cause of death amongst people experiencing homelessness, with almost half of the deaths amongst Toronto’s unhoused population in 2022 being attributed to drug toxicity.

“All levels of government must continue to work together with action and investment in the face of this urgent public health issue,” said Mayor Olivia Chow in a news release on Overdose Awareness Day in late August.