B.C. drug toxicity deaths climb as world marks Overdose Awareness Day

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – B.C. lost 1,011 lives to drug toxicity between January and June of this year.

The total is the highest ever recorded in the first six months of a calendar year, according to B.C.’s chief coroner.

Lisa Lapointe says the deaths are a reminder that toxic illicit drug supply “remains a significant ongoing threat to public health and safety in communities” throughout the province.

“The data released today highlights the immensity of this public health emergency and the need for a wide-scale response. This includes removing barriers to safe supply, ensuring timely access to evidence-based affordable treatment and providing those experiencing problematic substance use with compassionate and viable options to reduce risks and save lives,” she added.

According to the latest figures, 159 British Columbians died of drug toxicity in June. This is the ninth consecutive month that the number of deaths has been above 150.

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The province says drug toxicity is now the leading cause of death in B.C. for people aged 19 to 39. It remains the leading cause of unnatural deaths in the province.

Seventy-one per cent of the illicit drug-toxicity deaths reported in 2021 were between the ages of 30 and 59. Eight out of 10 were male.

The province says the highest number of those deaths were in the Fraser and Vancouver Coastal health regions.

The new data comes as the world marks International Overdose Awareness Day.

“Those who died mattered and their loss is felt deeply, and we must continue to urge those in positions of influence across our province and the country to move to urgently implement measures to prevent more unnecessary suffering and death,” said Lapointe.

The BC Coroners Service says the illicit drug supply in B.C. is increasingly toxic, with extreme fentanyl concentrations and carfentanil showing up more frequently in toxicology testing.

B.C. Minister of Health, Adrian Dix acknowledged the Overdose Awareness Day Tuesday and added that because the toxic drug supply has greatly impacted communities, “we need to do everything we can and continue to do to separate people from this poison supply by providing prescribed and safer options.

Additionally, the province’s top doctor, Dr. Bonnie Henry, said the impact of the toxic drug supply, “does not go unnoticed, to all of us that this is an ongoing crisis.”

‘Stop delaying on introduction of safe supply’

Meanwhile, Leslie McBain with Moms Stop the Harm (MSTH) says governments need to stop stalling on safe supply and act on providing it to those addicted to drugs.

“This year, I just lost patience. I have lost patience with the lack of action — on the part of the government, federal and provincial — on a safe supply of drugs. We have done almost nothing to implement a safe supply. And of course, people are dying at a greater rate this year than ever before in history,” she says.

In a “symbolic gesture,” McBain says MSTH, Drug User Liberation Front, Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users and other B.C. drug user groups will be distributing clean and tested heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine.

“It may anger, a lot of people … people may think we’re crazy for doing such a thing. But on the other hand, you know, whatever is provocative is moving the needle somehow. We really hope that it shows that shows the need for safe regulated supply.

“The goal is just to raise awareness.”

McBain’s only son Jordan died of an overdose in 2014 — she points out the illicit supply of drugs is produced with no regard for safety or consistency.

B.C. Indigenous leaders call for more action

The Union of BC Indian Chiefs is calling on the province to do more to address the factors that lead people into drugs and addiction.

The UBCIC says it wants to see “effective and immediate action” to address the socioeconomic factors it says make First Nations members more vulnerable to drug abuse and addiction.

The leaders are urging the province to make access to culturally appropriate mental health and addiction services available immediately.

“Indigenous peoples continue to be disproportionately impacted by the opioid overdose crisis and have for far too long borne the brunt of addiction, substance abuse, and unhealthy coping mechanisms that are tied to the colonial legacy of intergenerational trauma and discrimination,” the UBCIC says in a statement.

The Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) observes International Overdose Awareness Day with sadness and compassion, and we send our thoughts and prayers to all those impacted by the intensifying opioid public health emergency https://t.co/hXU6Nhy6yd pic.twitter.com/ZafLWTozvM

— UBCIC (@UBCIC) August 31, 2021

It notes the pandemic has exacerbated the impacts of the overdose crisis, leading to more deaths.

With 2021 on track to be “another year of tragic fatalities,” the Indigenous leaders say it’s crucial the B.C. government provides Indigenous people with greater access to things like naloxone, supervised injection sites, services to dispose of unused prescriptions safely, and treatment programs that focus on Indigenous culture and values.

In 2020, more than 1,700 people died of illicit drug overdoses, marking a 74 per cent increase over the previous year, according to the coroner.

“Today serves as a reminder to the province that they must work to bring greater visibility to the overdose crisis and reduce the negative stigma around drugs that is used to discriminate against Indigenous peoples,” says the UBCIC.