Recorded fatal drug poisonings and overdose deaths in Lethbridge dropped significantly leading up to the final closure of the city’s remaining supervised consumption/overdose prevention site in June 2026. Lethbridge recorded 17 fatal drug overdoses in 2025, a dramatic decrease from the peak of 122 deaths reported in 2023 and the 2025 death toll marked the lowest annual count in the city since 2016. Across Alberta, overall drug-related deaths fell by roughly 35% between 2023 and 2025.
The Government of Alberta and recovery advocates attribute the decline to a province-wide shift toward a recovery-oriented system. This includes expanded access to detox services, increased treatment and recovery beds (such as a recovery community near Lethbridge), and wider distribution of naloxone. However, critics, researchers, and local advocates argue that tracking only fatal deaths misses the full picture. They warn that closing supervised sites risks driving drug use out of sight, increasing non-fatal toxicities, and heightening risks if the unregulated drug supply fluctuates.
Speaker: Morgan Magnuson
Morgan Magnuson, RN, MPH, is a PhD candidate in Population Studies in Health and an instructor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Lethbridge. Her research focuses on harm reduction, drug policy, and the political and economic forces shaping responses to substance use and the drug poisoning crisis. Her doctoral research uses a feminist political economy approach to examine municipal substance use policy in Lethbridge, Alberta, including how policy problems are framed, whose knowledge and interests influence decision-making, and how the impacts of policy are distributed.
Morgan is also a registered nurse with experience in community-based nursing, and has developed and taught nursing clinical experiences working alongside organizations serving people who use drugs and people experiencing homelessness.
Date/Time: Thursday, October 29, 2026. The presentation begins at 12 noon & concludes at 1 pm.
Free to attend. Donations however, are gratefully accepted.
Location: SACPA sessions are held at Lethbridge Senior Citizens Organization (LSCO), Atrium Dining Room, 500 - 11 Street South, Lethbridge
Lunch and Refreshments: If you like, please arrive early to patronize the LSCO cafeteria and enjoy their excellent variety of good-value food/drink options in the Atrium Dining Room before/during the session