Calgary non-profits warn of rise in overdose calls, attribute it to contaminated drugs

Non-profit agencies in Calgary are sounding the alarm about a recent increase in drug overdoses, some deadly.

Non-profit agencies in Calgary are sounding the alarm about a recent increase in drug overdoses, some deadly.

Earl Thiessen's road to recovery wasn't fast or easy.

"I ended up addicted to alcohol, pharmaceuticals, cocaine, crack for 20 years, which led me to the streets for seven years," he told CTV News.

Thiessen even overdosed twice.

But, nearly 16 years later, as head of the Oxford House Foundation in Calgary, he helps people get into peer-supported recovery housing.

In the past six months, Thiessen has noticed a troubling trend — fentanyl showing up in drug test results, even in those who haven't intentionally taken it.

"The crystal meth, the heroin, the cocaine are all being cut with it now and I think that is why there's such a dramatic increase in deaths all over the country," he said.