There’s been a dramatic increase in the number of opioid overdose cases paramedics in the city have had to deal with.
Superior North EMS spokesperson Don Stokes tells us it’s unprecedented.
He points to stats which shows paramedics answered 434 overdose calls in January and February of this year compared to just 5 in the same period last year along with 44 overdose calls in May and June as opposed to 13 in 2017,
Stokes is not sure what is causing the increase but notes they are working with the city’s Drug Strategy committee to come up with possible answers.
The EMS official says in all cases they’ve been able to get the overdose victims to the hospital in time.