In our last few editions, we have featured two stories about Airdrie residents who have been impacted personally by the opioid epidemic in Alberta. Last week, our pages included a story about Cheryl Bulloch and Julie Hazelwanter, who both lost sons to fentanyl overdoses. We thank these two for bravely sharing their story with us, and offer our condolences.
This week, we interviewed Shawna Taylor, who has also been personally affected by the opioid epidemic, as her daughter Kenedee has battled with fentanyl addiction since she was in high school. Taylor runs a local monthly support group for Airdrie and area families going through similar circumstances.
These two stories touched on a public health emergency that has been mostly overshadowed by the COVID-19 pandemic in the last 14 months. While more than 1,100 Albertans died of an accidental drug overdose in 2020 – a record high – the heartbreaking stories associated with each and every one of those overdoses took a backseat to the arrival and fall-out of COVID-19.
Let us be clear – both the COVID-19 pandemic and the proliferation of illegal and highly dangerous opioids like fentanyl and carfentanil are serious public health issues. It’s not an either-or situation; both have to be dealt with and addressed by governments and health officials with the same level of seriousness and urgency.
Though Airdrie can occasionally seem isolated from the opioid crisis, that’s certainly not the case. As our conversations with the three aforementioned women revealed, drug use is as prolific in Airdrie as any other community in Alberta. While the issue may be less visible, the presence of substance abuse and addiction is there, below the city’s suburban surface.
We want Airdrie families who have been impacted by opioid addiction or other substance abuse to know that there are local support systems in place. While we search for answers and solutions from higher-ups, it's important that as a community, we do what we can to come together and fight this serious issue.
