Xylazine, a non-narcotic analgesic drug that is used in veterinary medicine, and not currently approved for human use in Canada, has been recently and increasingly showing up in samples submitted to the Drug Analysis Service (DAS) by Canadian law enforcement agencies.

Airdrie RCMP confirmed that they are aware of the drug, though they have not made any seizures.

However, Airdrie resident Samantha Ginter, who works as a harm-reduction advocate says that while she can't be certain that the drug - also known as 'Tranq' - is already in Airdrie, she has observed that in neighbouring municipalities, such as Calgary and Red Deer, it is frequently detected in drug supplies. However, recently she has submitted a sample from Airdrie. 

"I haven't received the results. I wouldn't be able to confirm or deny it."

According to the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA), Xylazine has become an increasingly common cutting agent in Canada and may be commonly added to opioids on the unregulated market, particularly fentanyl. Health Canada notes that some of the side effects of Xylazine include tiredness or faintness, respiratory depression, bradycardia, hypotension, hyperglycemia and miosis. 

"For overdoses involving combinations of Xylazine and opioids, naloxone [a medicine that rapidly reverses an opioid overdose] can reverse the opioid effects but has no effect on Xylazine. This can impact the success of the overdose response. There is no pharmaceutical antidote specifically for Xylazine," CCSA stated.

Ginter observed that Xylazine may be being used as a way to prolong the effects of other drugs, such as fentanyl.

"Fentanyl is a short-acting drug. Whereas benzodiazepines and Xylazine prolong the feeling. But the thing is, when people don't know that they're getting that, then they don't know that they need to reduce the amount they're taking, which is what typically causes somebody to have an accidental drug poisoning."

When asked what she thinks may be driving the increase in accidental drug poisoning, Ginter said that there are several key factors in play, one of which is supply and demand.

"When things like drug busts happen, the greater community is excited and thinks this is getting off the street and will make the communities healthier. [But] something that's being forgotten is that demand is still and always will be there. If demand is there, supply needs to be there and if the supply is compromised, then people need to find a new way to meet that demand. That's where new drugs get brought in."

Ginter also strongly advocates for safe supply.

"The only way to significantly reduce the number of people that are dying is to be able to give them the substances that they need, and they need to have the correct dose and the correct substance. That can only be done through safe supply programs."

Though it is still unclear whether Xylazine is driving the spike in drug poisoning and drug poisoning deaths in the province, the Alberta Substance Use Surveillance System recorded 79 opioid drug poisoning deaths in the Calgary zone (which includes Airdrie) in April 2023 - the highest number of deaths recorded in a single month since records have been available since 2016. Data for more recent months this year was not available.

The numbers however are only part of the story. Ginter said she has lost four people she knew to accidental drug poisoning in Airdrie.

"That's a big number. It's not just four people that died; it's four families that no longer have moms or dads or grandmas, uncles or cousins; it's workplaces that are losing employees," she said. "They were musicians, they were humorous people, people that are smart people; that are loved and cared for."

Outside of Airdrie, Ginter said she knows of 13 more people who have died.

Emergency Department visits related to substance use (specifically opioids) in the Calgary zone in the first quarter of 2023 were at 1,222 (rate per 100,000), while hospitalizations were at 425 visits.

The Alberta Substance Use Surveillance System notes that there were 84 EMS responses to opioid-related events for the week of July 10 in Calgary, while the week of July 3 saw 96 EMS calls for opioid-related events. The week of June 26 saw one of the highest recorded numbers of EMS-attended opioid-related calls; with 111 calls - the highest call volume since 2016. 

Data provided by a local paramedic shows that to date in 2023, there have been 9,401 EMS calls to service in the Calgary zone for substance poisoning - though this number encapsulates all substances, including alcohol. 75 of those calls were in Airdrie. In comparison, in all of 2022, there were 104 calls in Airdrie for substance poisoning and a total of 10,707 for the entire Calgary zone. The paramedic underlined that Airdrie EMS has also responded to calls in Crossfield and Carstairs, though this may not be reflected in the statistics, other than the provincial total. 

In 2022, province-wide, EMS responded to 30,319 substance poisoning, compared to 24,246 calls this year. From a policing standpoint, Airdrie RCMP has dealt with few calls. 

"Overdose calls do not always result in calls to the police. Also, if there are no drugs seized at the scene of an overdose the police are not told which drugs hospitals find in a person's blood,"  wrote Cpl. James McConnell with the Airdrie RCMP's Community Policing Unit. 

He added that from May 1 till July 24, 2023, there have been three calls to assist EMS with overdose calls

"Only one was the drug ingested known. In this case an over-the-counter drug."

While Alberta Health Services said that it is committed to enhancing care for Albertans struggling with opioid use and is expanding recovery supports, Ginter said resources are strained.

"'I've been working with a couple of people in Airdrie trying to find to get them into detox and treatment. Alberta's recovery, recovery-oriented system of care is not working. I cannot get a person into detox, the day they want to go; they have to either go in every single day at seven o'clock and this is in Calgary - mind you. A lot of people don't make it that long."

However, James Wood, Director of Issues Management and Media Relations at Alberta Health Services wrote that AHS provides a range of services to support those impacted by opioid use, including addiction treatment and recovery options, expanding Opioid Dependency Programs (ODP) in Red Deer, Medicine Hat and Lethbridge, improving communication on Opioid Agonist Therapy and ensuring awareness and access to the Virtual Opioid Dependency Program. 

"AHS strongly advises individuals who use illicit substances to avoid using alone, start with smaller test doses, refrain from mixing drugs, use safer routes of administration (such as intranasal rather than injection), carry naloxone and download the free Digital Overdose Response System app," Wood wrote.

40 per cent of opioid poisoning deaths in 2023 in the Calgary zone occurred in a private residence. Ginter's partner, who was 29 at the time of his death; was one of those individuals who died in his home several years ago after an accidental substance poisoning. She said that it is his memory that spurs her to continue the work that she does.

"Every time that I run into a hurdle or every story that is shared with me, every experience, every person that cries on my shoulder, every family member that comes to me to say I don't want my person to die; I think of him and we just continue to fight."

According to Health Canada, as of December 2022, Xylazine was not controlled in Canada under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.

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