Greater Sudbury facing opioid crisis amid service closures and high overdose rates

New data from Public Health Sudbury and Districts and Greater Sudbury Paramedic Services suggests the opioid crisis continues to be a major issue in the region.

In 2023, opioids were involved in 74 percent of all drug poisoning deaths. 

Between January and July of this year, Greater Sudbury Paramedic Services responded to 384 suspected opioid-related incidents, a two per cent increase from the same period last year.  However, Emergency department visits and deaths related to opioids are still higher than the provincial rate. 

From January to July 2024, there were 162 emergency visits per 100,000 people in the region, compared to Ontario's average of 71 visits per 100,000 people per year. The local mortality rate is 44 deaths per 100,000 people, while the provincial rate is 15 deaths per 100,000 people per year.

Rachelle Roy, a public health nurse, says the unique challenges in the north contribute to these statistics.

"We have a very volatile toxic drug supply and we know that new drugs are being added all the time. We have a much more physically demanding work environment, thinking about the mining industry, forestry, construction as well as we know that we do have decreased access to essential services like mental health, harm reduction and treatment," said Roy.

Roy also points to the recent closures of critical services as having exacerbated the issue. In March, Sudbury's supervised consumption site, known as the Spot, closed after waiting two years for provincial funding that never arrived. As well, the Sudbury Action Centre for Youth (SACY) closed around the same time.

"With the recent closure of our local supervised consumption site and SACY, people who used to depend on that service may be at increased risk of using now… the closure of the Spot will likely result in preventable deaths," said Roy.

Ali Farooq, who runs the mobile outreach program called The Go-Give Project, has seen the impact of these closures first hand.

"We're seeing more and more youth under the age of 18 that are experiencing homelessness who are getting into opioid use with overdoses as well. There doesn't seem to be any signs that it's slowing down, unfortunately," said Farooq.

Farooq also notes that the effects of opioid addiction extend beyond the users themselves, affecting their families.

"Opioids are a highly addictive substance. It doesn't take very long for the body to develop a dependence on it, especially with the type of opioids that we're dealing with these days… you don't know what sort of drugs they are getting access to, if they're going to overdose, who they're with, where they are," said Farooq.

He is calling on the government to invest in addiction treatment and mental health services.