In the first half of 2023, violations involving opioids in Calgary were up 314 per cent over the average
In another reflection of the unrelenting opioid crisis, city police say the number of incidents they’ve dealt with involving the drugs has more tripled in 2023 compared to recent years.
In the first half of 2023, incidents where opioids were considered the most serious violation numbered 207, up 314 per cent over the average for the previous five years and more than double for that time period in 2022.
“We’ve obviously seen more of a dedicated look at opioids given all the health and public safety issues,” he said.
“It’s significantly higher and much more prevalent than it was in 2018 . . . There’s money to be made by continually trafficking in these dangerous substances.”
That tends to involve organized crime, contributing to shootings in the city as offenders battle over the profitable trade, said Pennoyer.
So far this year, CPS has made 2,500 fentanyl seizures, compared with 2,100 involving methamphetamine.
And while opioid incidents have been dramatically trending up, those of meth — as with almost all other substance categories — have actually dropped slightly in recent years.
Cannabis, which was legalized for recreational use in 2018 but still contains some legal restrictions, has been all but dropped by police as they turn their attention to harder drugs, said Pennoyer.
“That’s where it needs to be, it does more community harm.”
Those policing numbers dovetail with an opioid epidemic that continues to ravage Alberta.
Through eight months of 2023, Alberta and Calgary are experiencing the worst drug poisoning death rates on record and are on track for their deadliest year in history, according to new provincial data.
The numbers come amid a push from UCP government members to end public funding for supervised consumption sites.
Data published last month by the province showed an additional 147 people died of toxic drug overdoses in August, making it the province’s third-deadliest year to date. The province has already recorded 1,262 deaths in 2023 to opioids.
Calgary’s death rate is also significantly higher than the provincial rate, reaching 47.3 people per 100,00 through the first eight months of this year.
The opioid plague has also kept Alberta RCMP busy, with Mounties reporting a 100 per cent increase in overdose responses from January to November compared to all of last year and a 24 per cent hike in Naloxone deployment.
Those battling the criminal end of the crisis are alarmed by a severity not seen from other drugs, said Pennoyer.
“It’s like nothing we’ve experienced before, this opioid epidemic — we are motivated to save the citizens of Calgary from this,” said the CPS inspector, adding there’s no way to enforce the problem away.
“I don’t know if the law enforcement part of it is the be-all and end-all of that process.”
Local, larger-scale production of fentanyl doesn’t appear to play a significant role in the drug’s prevalence, said Pennoyer, but it’s hardly unheard of.
In July 2021, police busted a “superlab” that had been operating at Aldersyde, 45 kilometres southeast of Calgary, seizing 31 kilograms of fentanyl and 7,600 kilograms of chemicals that produced the synthetic opioid with a street value of about $300 million, say police.
Smaller production sites inside the city have also been dismantled.
And the toxicity of drugs confiscated by police varies, he said.
“We’ve made relatively pure seizures as well as fentanyl (cut) with a variety of different substances,” said Pennoyer.
The increasing toxicity of fentanyl cut with dangerous additives such as benzodiazepine, which extend the drug’s high, is a growing threat, said addictions specialist Dr. Monty Ghosh.
“It’s very similar to what people used to feel from heroin. The problem is, it increases your risk of having a drug poisoning event or overdose,” said Ghosh, who works with vulnerable populations.
Those additives can make it more difficult to reverse overdoses, as well as complicating recovery as users go through benzodiazepine withdrawal, he said.
“We’re definitely needing to use more Naloxone, especially with benzos and carfentanil, which is 50 times more potent (than fentanyl),” said Ghosh.
“Things are definitely worse now than ever before and it’s not going to get any better.”
The scourge has led some desperate users to feed their addictions by targeting rural areas not as heavily policed as Alberta’s cities, he said.
“They’re typically rural areas within 50 kilometres of metropolitan areas. It just runs down the QE2 and it’s thefts, property-related crime,” said King.
He said the big money and organized crime involved in trafficking opioids and the drug’s powerful sway over their users means the trade will never be snuffed out.
“The reality is, we’ll never get rid of it, we’ll have to deal with it long-term and those people with opioid disorder,” said King.
The CPS’s Pennoyer said one of the barriers to a more effective crackdown is the difficulty in holding traffickers to account for customers who died from their toxic products.
No such convictions have been obtained in Calgary, he said.
“The standard for charging someone with manslaughter or negligence causing death is significant, and meeting that threshold is difficult to attain,” said Pennoyer.
Earlier this year, the B.C. government launched a pilot project of decriminalizing possession of small amounts of illicit drugs following its decision to provide a safer, prescribed supply of opioid alternatives to save lives and undermine the illicit market.
Some studies have shown participants in the safer supply program that includes opioids, cocaine and methamphetamine have benefited.
Pennoyer notes Alberta’s chiefs of police believe it’s premature to get on the decriminalization bandwagon, favouring instead a current comprehensive approach that includes treatment.
“Individual initiatives without a co-ordinated plan is not the best plan,” he said.
Addictions specialist Ghosh also urged caution about distributing a safer supply, saying there’s a risk of those drugs being diverted into the illicit market.
“There is much concern around unintended consequences of safe supply and we would need to have those minimized,” he said.
“Ideally, safe supply would be partnered with access to wellness supports, including treatment and recovery-oriented options.”
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Give the gift of great skin this holiday season Skinstitut Holiday Gift Kits take the stress out of gifting Toronto, October 31, 2024 – Beauty gifts are at the top of holiday wish lists this year, and Laser Clinics Canada, a leader in advanced beauty treatments and skincare, is taking the pressure out of seasonal shopping. Today, Laser Clincs Canada announces the arrival of its 2024 Holiday Gift Kits, courtesy of Skinstitut, the exclusive skincare line of Laser Clinics Group. In time for the busy shopping season, the limited-edition Holiday Gifts Kits are available in Laser Clinics locations in the GTA and Ottawa. Clinics are conveniently located in popular shopping centers, including Hillcrest Mall, Square One, CF Sherway Gardens, Scarborough Town Centre, Rideau Centre, Union Station and CF Markville. These limited-edition Kits are available on a first come, first served basis. “These kits combine our best-selling products, bundled to address the most relevant skin concerns we’re seeing among our clients,” says Christina Ho, Senior Brand & LAM Manager at Laser Clinics Canada. “With several price points available, the kits offer excellent value and suit a variety of gift-giving needs, from those new to cosmeceuticals to those looking to level up their skincare routine. What’s more, these kits are priced with a savings of up to 33 per cent so gift givers can save during the holiday season. There are two kits to select from, each designed to address key skin concerns and each with a unique theme — Brightening Basics and Hydration Heroes. Brightening Basics is a mix of everyday essentials for glowing skin for all skin types. The bundle comes in a sleek pink, reusable case and includes three full-sized products: 200ml gentle cleanser, 50ml Moisture Defence (normal skin) and 30ml1% Hyaluronic Complex Serum. The Brightening Basics kit is available at $129, a saving of 33 per cent. Hydration Heroes is a mix of hydration essentials and active heroes that cater to a wide variety of clients. A perfect stocking stuffer, this bundle includes four deluxe products: Moisture 15 15 ml Defence for normal skin, 10 ml 1% Hyaluronic Complex Serum, 10 ml Retinol Serum and 50 ml Expert Squalane Cleansing Oil. The kit retails at $59. In addition to the 2024 Holiday Gifts Kits, gift givers can easily add a Laser Clinic Canada gift card to the mix. Offering flexibility, recipients can choose from a wide range of treatments offered by Laser Clinics Canada, or they can expand their collection of exclusive Skinstitut products.
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Brightening Basics 2024 Holiday Gift Kit by Skinstitut, available exclusively at Laser Clincs Canada clinics and online at skinstitut.ca. |
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Hydration Heroes 2024 Holiday Gift Kit by Skinstitut – available exclusively at Laser Clincs Canada clinics and online at skinstitut.ca. |
LONDON (AP) — Most people have accumulated a pile of data — selfies, emails, videos and more — on their social media and digital accounts over their lifetimes. What happens to it when we die?
It’s wise to draft a will spelling out who inherits your physical assets after you’re gone, but don’t forget to take care of your digital estate too. Friends and family might treasure files and posts you’ve left behind, but they could get lost in digital purgatory after you pass away unless you take some simple steps.
Here’s how you can prepare your digital life for your survivors:
Apple
The iPhone maker lets you nominate a “ legacy contact ” who can access your Apple account’s data after you die. The company says it’s a secure way to give trusted people access to photos, files and messages. To set it up you’ll need an Apple device with a fairly recent operating system — iPhones and iPads need iOS or iPadOS 15.2 and MacBooks needs macOS Monterey 12.1.
For iPhones, go to settings, tap Sign-in & Security and then Legacy Contact. You can name one or more people, and they don’t need an Apple ID or device.
You’ll have to share an access key with your contact. It can be a digital version sent electronically, or you can print a copy or save it as a screenshot or PDF.
Take note that there are some types of files you won’t be able to pass on — including digital rights-protected music, movies and passwords stored in Apple’s password manager. Legacy contacts can only access a deceased user’s account for three years before Apple deletes the account.
Google takes a different approach with its Inactive Account Manager, which allows you to share your data with someone if it notices that you’ve stopped using your account.
When setting it up, you need to decide how long Google should wait — from three to 18 months — before considering your account inactive. Once that time is up, Google can notify up to 10 people.
You can write a message informing them you’ve stopped using the account, and, optionally, include a link to download your data. You can choose what types of data they can access — including emails, photos, calendar entries and YouTube videos.
There’s also an option to automatically delete your account after three months of inactivity, so your contacts will have to download any data before that deadline.
Facebook and Instagram
Some social media platforms can preserve accounts for people who have died so that friends and family can honor their memories.
When users of Facebook or Instagram die, parent company Meta says it can memorialize the account if it gets a “valid request” from a friend or family member. Requests can be submitted through an online form.
The social media company strongly recommends Facebook users add a legacy contact to look after their memorial accounts. Legacy contacts can do things like respond to new friend requests and update pinned posts, but they can’t read private messages or remove or alter previous posts. You can only choose one person, who also has to have a Facebook account.
You can also ask Facebook or Instagram to delete a deceased user’s account if you’re a close family member or an executor. You’ll need to send in documents like a death certificate.
TikTok
The video-sharing platform says that if a user has died, people can submit a request to memorialize the account through the settings menu. Go to the Report a Problem section, then Account and profile, then Manage account, where you can report a deceased user.
Once an account has been memorialized, it will be labeled “Remembering.” No one will be able to log into the account, which prevents anyone from editing the profile or using the account to post new content or send messages.
X
It’s not possible to nominate a legacy contact on Elon Musk’s social media site. But family members or an authorized person can submit a request to deactivate a deceased user’s account.
Passwords
Besides the major online services, you’ll probably have dozens if not hundreds of other digital accounts that your survivors might need to access. You could just write all your login credentials down in a notebook and put it somewhere safe. But making a physical copy presents its own vulnerabilities. What if you lose track of it? What if someone finds it?
Instead, consider a password manager that has an emergency access feature. Password managers are digital vaults that you can use to store all your credentials. Some, like Keeper,Bitwarden and NordPass, allow users to nominate one or more trusted contacts who can access their keys in case of an emergency such as a death.
But there are a few catches: Those contacts also need to use the same password manager and you might have to pay for the service.
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Is there a tech challenge you need help figuring out? Write to us at onetechtip@ap.org with your questions.
The Canadian Paediatric Society says doctors should regularly screen children for reading difficulties and dyslexia, calling low literacy a “serious public health concern” that can increase the risk of other problems including anxiety, low self-esteem and behavioural issues, with lifelong consequences.
New guidance issued Wednesday says family doctors, nurses, pediatricians and other medical professionals who care for school-aged kids are in a unique position to help struggling readers access educational and specialty supports, noting that identifying problems early couldhelp kids sooner — when it’s more effective — as well as reveal other possible learning or developmental issues.
The 10 recommendations include regular screening for kids aged four to seven, especially if they belong to groups at higher risk of low literacy, including newcomers to Canada, racialized Canadians and Indigenous Peoples. The society says this can be done in a two-to-three-minute office-based assessment.
Other tips encourage doctors to look for conditions often seen among poor readers such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder; to advocate for early literacy training for pediatric and family medicine residents; to liaise with schools on behalf of families seeking help; and to push provincial and territorial education ministries to integrate evidence-based phonics instruction into curriculums, starting in kindergarten.
Dr. Scott McLeod, one of the authors and chair of the society’s mental health and developmental disabilities committee, said a key goal is to catch kids who may be falling through the cracks and to better connect families to resources, including quicker targeted help from schools.
“Collaboration in this area is so key because we need to move away from the silos of: everything educational must exist within the educational portfolio,” McLeod said in an interview from Calgary, where he is a developmental pediatrician at Alberta Children’s Hospital.
“Reading, yes, it’s education, but it’s also health because we know that literacy impacts health. So I think that a statement like this opens the window to say: Yes, parents can come to their health-care provider to get advice, get recommendations, hopefully start a collaboration with school teachers.”
McLeod noted that pediatricians already look for signs of low literacy in young children by way of a commonly used tool known as the Rourke Baby Record, which offers a checklist of key topics, such as nutrition and developmental benchmarks, to cover in a well-child appointment.
But he said questions about reading could be “a standing item” in checkups and he hoped the society’s statement to medical professionals who care for children “enhances their confidence in being a strong advocate for the child” while spurring partnerships with others involved in a child’s life such as teachers and psychologists.
The guidance said pediatricians also play a key role in detecting and monitoring conditions that often coexist with difficulty reading such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, but McLeod noted that getting such specific diagnoses typically involves a referral to a specialist, during which time a child continues to struggle.
He also acknowledged that some schools can be slow to act without a specific diagnosis from a specialist, and even then a child may end up on a wait list for school interventions.
“Evidence-based reading instruction shouldn’t have to wait for some of that access to specialized assessments to occur,” he said.
“My hope is that (by) having an existing statement or document written by the Canadian Paediatric Society … we’re able to skip a few steps or have some of the early interventions present,” he said.
McLeod added that obtaining specific assessments from medical specialists is “definitely beneficial and advantageous” to know where a child is at, “but having that sort of clear, thorough assessment shouldn’t be a barrier to intervention starting.”
McLeod said the society was partly spurred to act by 2022’s “Right to Read Inquiry Report” from the Ontario Human Rights Commission, which made 157 recommendations to address inequities related to reading instruction in that province.
He called the new guidelines “a big reminder” to pediatric providers, family doctors, school teachers and psychologists of the importance of literacy.
“Early identification of reading difficulty can truly change the trajectory of a child’s life.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2024.
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