Troy Bevans and Lauren Cameron know better than most about the realities of drug use — they’ve seen it from both sides.
And as the two outreach workers set out for their shift in downtown Calgary on a recent afternoon, they say it’s never been this bad or this dangerous.
“Tranq dope” is taking a toll, they say.
“It’s really scary out there,” said Cameron, a former “chaotic” drug user trying to help people living on the city’s streets.
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The numbers bear it out.
Alberta poisoning deaths in April due to opioids hit 179, the highest number since the province started collecting data in 2016, according to the province’s substance use surveillance system. The numbers were