Alberta medical students lobby to change approach to opioid crisis

A group of medical students is calling for improved access to evidence-based interventions to help address the opioid crisis in Alberta.

It's one of three calls to action contained in a new report from medical students at the universities of Calgary and Alberta.

"It's based on evidence, it's based on science and it's also based on the alleged experiences of people in the community in Alberta,"  Alexandre Grant, the junior chair of the advocacy committee for the Medical Student's Association at U of A, told Edmonton AM on Friday.

"Students are also advocating for outcomes of privately-run recovery programs to be tracked and bridge housing to be prioritized for homeless people being released from emergency rooms.

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"We're asking the government to make these changes so that when we become physicians, we have the tools that we need to treat people with opioid-use disorder, we have the tools that we need to meaningfully address this crisis and to help people " 

The UCP government has increasingly moved toward a recovery-oriented model and away from the harm reduction measures used in B.C.

The province is investing millions to open six recovery communities and the number of supervised consumption sites has shrunk.

In October 2022, Alberta introduced rules limiting who can prescribe high-potency drugs to people with difficult-to-treat opioid addictions.

"We can't just expect people who are in crisis or who don't respond to treatment to just overnight go into an abstinence-based program and stop using drugs," Grant said.

"We need to be able to fine-tune our approach and our support to what each person needs at different points in their lives."

Dr. Ginetta Salvalaggio, former co-chair of Edmonton's opioid poisoning committee and professor at the University of Alberta, said a range of options is essential.

She said even those who seek treatment may continue to use a small amount of drugs until they feel more comfortable in their own skin.

"So what are the supports in place to help people through those periods and through those barriers and those challenges?"

Salvalaggio said increased barriers around stable housing and accessing treatment have made it harder to care for people.

'Continuum of services'

The province government says this year's budget invested more than $30 million in services that reduce harm, which is an $8 million increase from 2018-19.

"Alberta's government is building recovery-oriented systems of addiction and mental health care in Alberta that provide access to a continuum of services, including prevention, intervention, treatment and recovery," wrote Colin Aitchison, press secretary for Alberta's minister of mental health and addictions, in an email.

"This includes services that reduce harm where appropriate."

Scott Johnston, press secretary for Health Minister Jason Copping, said the minister was unable to schedule a meeting with students due to the election writ period coming up.  

A new opened facility, with 36 transition beds, will help bridge the gap for unhoused people discharged from emergency rooms in Edmonton, Atchison added.

Students from across the province are gathering at the legislature on Monday to advocate for their calls to action.