Dozens of overdoses, and in one day alone, sixteen, have kept Lethbridge medical professionals busy in recent weeks. On the neighboring Blood Tribe First Nation, a state of emergency was issued on Friday, and a temporary safe consumption site organized to be set up.

As the opioid crisis in our province heightens, so it seems does the support to fight it. A further $9.5 million dollars in funding was announced late last week by the provincial government, to be used to better train physicians to respond and treat overdose patients.

But, as is proven by Lethbridge and surrounding communities, there’s something to be said for the use of cultural addictions treatment, too.