‘I am frustrated’: B.C.’s coroner admits fear as drug crisis worsens

On the heels of yet another record-breaking month of drug-related deaths, B.C.’s chief coroner isn’t convinced things will get better anytime soon.

The proof is in the statistics. Lisa Lapointe tells CityNews B.C. is on track to set a new record this year when it comes to drug deaths, adding the province has had more so far this year, compared to the same time in 2021.

She adds the drug supply in B.C. is incredibly toxic, noting people who think they’re buying one drug are typically buying a substance cut with something else.

“I am frustrated. It is sad. It is tremendously sad that six people die in this province every day from toxic drugs,” Lapointe said. 

“I look and different events get lots of publicity. So if there were a multi-vehicle fatality and six people died on a highway, that would get people’s attention, but six people die every single day in our province as a result of toxic drugs and I worry that we’re becoming accustomed to it and we’re finding it’s just the cost of doing business and it shouldn’t be. We are losing tremendously valuable people, who are loved and who contribute to their communities and just happen to use drugs and the toxic supply is just so risky.”

Lapointe says there’s an assumption those who use drugs are all living on the street in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside when, in reality, anyone can be affected.

“There is no average person dying as a result of drug use. There is no stereotype. There are people who are really disadvantaged and vulnerable on the Downtown Eastside who die, but there are people in suburban neighbourhoods who die just as often. There are people in rural communities, small communities, people from all walks of life — we see those people as coroners. Of course, because of the stigma, families don’t want to share that their loved one died as a result of drug use. What we really need people to understand is this can happen to anybody and we’re all vulnerable.”

Related articles: 

• B.C. on pace for another record year of illicit drug deaths

• B.C. to decriminalize small amounts of drugs, first province granted exemption

• B.C. records 161 deaths in April due to toxic drugs

Nearly 200 British Columbians died due to toxic illicit drugs in May, the latest month for which data is available. The 195 figure is up 20 per cent compared to the month before.

This marks the highest number of toxic drug deaths ever recorded in the month of May, and equates to an average of 6.3 deaths per day.

As of the end of May, at least 940 lives have been lost to toxic drugs in B.C. in the first five months of the year.

The ongoing stigma around drug use, Lapointe notes, continues to lead to deaths.

“Absolutely. There is so much shame around drug use, particularly in families. People don’t want to disappoint their families. They don’t want to let their families down because families often know and they’re so afraid their loved one is going to come to harm. But by stigmatizing people and marginalizing people, in fact, more harm is the result because they are now ashamed and they will use alone, and they won’t ask for help or they won’t ask for somebody to be nearby,” she explained.

“We know the majority of people who die have used alone and there was no one available to give them help. As difficult as it is, it’s really important that we keep attached to our loved ones who are using drugs and let them know we are a safe space and we’re there for them and trying to understand where people come from.”

‘They are human beings just like us’

However, Lapointe says the ongoing messaging about drug use has also been problematic.

“For so many decades, the campaign against drugs was so much a campaign against people who used drugs and we really vilified people who used drugs and we had terrible terms for people who used drugs, but they are just people. They are human beings just like us sometimes using drugs because they’re dealing with forms of pain that we can’t imagine. Sometimes it’s young people who are just experimenting … and now young people experiment, and they die. It’s almost a death sentence. I feel like we have become too complacent to it, and we need acknowledge these are human beings and human beings are fallible, but they shouldn’t be at risk of doing. We should be doing a lot more.”

The BC Coroners Service says fentanyl and/or its analogues were found in 91 per cent of tested samples since July 2020. Benzodiazepine was found in 44 per cent.

Illicit drug toxicity is the leading cause of “unnatural death” in B.C.

On May 31, 2022, the federal government announced that B.C. was being granted an exemption to federal laws to allow the province to decriminalize small amounts of certain drugs for personal possession.

However, there have been repeated calls for the province to make a safe supply more available, amid increasing toxicity of drugs.

Lapointe has long been an advocate for such a thing. However, amid a slow rollout, she is calling for the process to be sped up before more people die.

“What we always say to people is be cognizant that what you’re buying is illicit and made-for-profit. So, even if you know your dealer and even if it’s somebody you bought from before it doesn’t mean this purchase is safe. Put your safety first. Use with a friend. If you have a family member who’s using drugs, you won’t like it probably, but reach out to them to make sure they’re not using alone, because if they are going to use alone, they are at a greater risk of dying so it’s about being inclusive, trying to help and support people.”

The opioid crisis was declared a public health emergency in B.C. in April 2016. More than six years later, Lapointe can’t believe the situation hasn’t improved, and has instead worsened.

“That year we saw almost 1,000 deaths, which was unprecedented,” she said of April 2016. “We would have never imagined that six years later we’d be seeing double that number of deaths in our communities. We just haven’t kept up. It requires all hands-on deck, a public health response, and we’re still looking to see that. We haven’t seen that yet.”

She hopes that by speaking out, her words will be able to get through to anyone who may be using or thinking about trying drugs.

“When I take my coroner hat off, I am a parent, I am a grandparent, and I certainly have nieces and nephews and friends, and it makes me afraid for people. It also worries me we don’t care as much as we should for those who are dying and those who are experiencing challenges in our community — sometimes we don’t want to see them. We’d rather they weren’t there. We’d rather that we didn’t have to deal with people experiencing challenges, but they are our loved ones, they are our neighbours and friends. It’s about, how do we help people? Unless, we just want to shrug our shoulders and say, ‘It’s okay that six people die every day,’ which I don’t think anybody thinks, then how do we really develop a meaningful plan to reduce the number of deaths, to reduce the number of overdoses and start to treat substance use like the health challenge that it is?”

Lapointe recommends anyone who is using or thinking about using try a small amount to begin. She once again stresses people should always use with someone else nearby and with a Naloxone kit.

-With files from Denise Wong and Hana Mae Nassar