The Canadian Institute for Health Information says more Canadians ended up in hospital for substance abuse between March and September of 2020.

Director of Health System Analysis and Emerging Issues with CIHI, Tracy Johnson says the data collected during the early months of the pandemic was compared to the same period the previous year. She says it was clear that things had changed as a result of the pandemic, and continue to change.

In the west, in particular, they’ve seen a shift from an overdose crisis to a toxicity crisis, stemming from the dangerous substances—like Fentanyl—being added to various drugs. That’s resulting in more deaths says Johnson.

While hospitalizations for substance abuse stayed about the same in Newfoundland and Labrador, nationally, the hospitalizations were driven mostly by alcohol.

The data collected by other credible agencies during the pandemic, says Johnson, shows that some substance use increased by 30 per cent—related primarily to stress, boredom, and changes in routine. Most of those hospitalizations were driven by chronic alcohol conditions like liver disease due to increased consumption by people who already have challenges with drinking.