‘It’s been pretty consistent’: Moncton drug crisis reaches fourth week

The corner of High and Park Street in Moncton, N.B., (Derek Haggett/CTV News)

Friday marked four weeks since the overdose crisis in Moncton started.

Since then, first responders, front-line agency staff and Good Samaritans have dealt with hundreds and hundreds of overdoses.

The executive director of Ensemble Greater Moncton, the city’s harm reduction centre, said the past month has been “pretty intense” for his staff.

“This whole crisis situation started pretty much around May 29 and it’s been pretty consistent since that time,” said Scott Phipps. “There have been ebbs and flows and when we’re witnessing the overdoses they typically come in clusters.”

Phipps has seen the overdose numbers come down a little bit over the past week.

“We’ve had a couple of spikes. For example, last Sunday was a very calm day. We had zero overdoses that day. We’re hoping it’s going in the direction where it is going to settle,” said Phipps. “We’ll know better probably in the next seven to ten days.”

Two weeks into the crisis, the Vitalité Health Network warned the public that very powerful and dangerous substances may have been added to certain drugs circulating in the Moncton area.

What’s causing the overdoses, or drug poisonings, is something commonly used by veterinarians that is being mixed with the fentanyl that is coming into the Moncton area.

“It’s called Medetomidine. It is an animal tranquilizer. It is quite a strong sedative. And what we’re witnessing is yes, it still is in the supply,” said Phipps.

City officials and agency workers have called the number of overdoses unprecedented and it’s having a massive impact on those who are reviving people with Naloxone and in many cases saving their lives.

Newly elected Moncton Mayor Shawn Crossman called the overdose situation a health crisis.

“Our front-line workers are trying to do the best that they can to help anybody who is in that crisis right now and I find it extremely stressful, not only for our front line workers, but as well for people that are actually in that situation that are struggling right now to get by with illegal drugs,” said Crossman.

On June 23, the New Brunswick Emergency Measures Organization (NBEMO) announced it had activated to Level 1: Enhanced Monitoring.

NBEMO Director Kyle Leavitt said they go from routine monitoring to enhanced monitoring when a situation changes and more government focus and support is needed.

Leavitt said the lion’s share of the work is being done by the departments of health and social development, the City of Moncton and the front-line agencies responsible for the city’s four shelters.

“When they identified to the Department of Health that they thought they needed some additional support, whether it be facilities, staff, function or expert advice, they reached out to us to see how we can perhaps enable that,” said Leavitt. “The Bridge to Home Hub, they have clinical support on scene now from the Department of Health and the others are assessing if they require further resources on site.”

As for how long the enhanced monitoring will last, Leavitt said there’s no timetable right now.

“We’re talking about a health situation which is based upon obviously criminal activities. So really, I think it’s too soon to kind of make those estimates,” said Leavitt.

Crossman doesn’t believe the crisis is slowing down at all.

“I think we are coming to the point where we need to look at our next steps and what those could be to help the people that are vulnerable right now and help our front-line workers back to where they should be,” said Crossman.

On June 12, CTV News spoke with Chelsea Melanson, a frontline support worker team lead at Harvest House Atlantic about the toll the crisis is taking.

“It’s been a lot. There’s been multiple overdoses a day. Some days 40, 50. It’s tiring, it’s overwhelming,” said Melanson. “We bring it all home with us. No matter what we go through here, we have to go home.”

There has been one known overdose fatality since the crisis began.

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