343 died from Fentanyl last year in Alberta

Alberta has released year-end numbers that showed a 33 per cent increase in the rate of overdose deaths linked to fentanyl from 2015, and a dizzying 110 per cent rise from two years ago. Calgary saw the lion’s share of the death toll with 149 deaths in 2016. Of those 343 deaths, 22 were linked to carfentanil. Last week, Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi said he has urged federal Health Minister Jane Philpott to use Calgary as a “test bed” for innovative ways to help combat fentanyl, calling the city’s situation “desperate.”