Rallies, marches and vigils to mark International Overdose Awareness Day

Wednesday marks International Overdose Awareness Day, with events planned across the Lower Mainland to remember the thousands of people who have died because of B.C.’s toxic drug supply.

“The goal is to generate awareness in our community,” said Daniel Snyder with the Langley Community Action Team.

The group is one of many that has put up purple ribbons, chalk messages, and displays of 247 purple flags in the Langley Township to remember each of the people who’ve died in the community during the opioid crisis.

“Clearly, there are a lot of people here who don’t feel overdose is an important issue,” he told CityNews. “This lets the community know this is a serious issue that is not being addressed promptly enough.”

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He describes it as an “emergency with no urgency” in Langley.

“For instance, Langley has no overdose prevention site services and we are desperate for a health contact centre, and yet there are people who feel this is not needed here. With six people dying every day in the province, Langley has lost 247 individuals since 2016 — sons, daughters, friends, family members. These people are grieving and there is no response.”

It was 2016 when the province declared the toxic drug supply a public health emergency. Since then, thousands of people have died while using drugs, many of which are cut with substances like fentanyl.

“I want to say that the only thing that really separates me from the 10,000 is timing,” Snyder said. “I have a past addiction to heroin and, thankfully, due to a lot of love and community support, friends, and family, I recovered. But not overnight — over time. I realized in 2017 that if my addiction was still active, I wouldn’t have survived this crisis.”

He believes his experience is a “defining thing” in the fight for more services to deal with addiction and substance use.

“These people have tremendous value, there’s potential with anyone. Why should using of drugs be a death sentence? Why an idea like safe supply is controversial is beyond me. We are already talking about people who have a struggle — sure they have an addiction that they are wanting to deal with, perhaps in different ways — but shouldn’t death be the bottom line? Shouldn’t preventing death be our only focus?”

Snyder believes wraparound support services can come either after or alongside immediate efforts to prevent fatalities from poisoned illicit drugs.

“Right now, let’s focus on keeping people alive,” he said. “We are debating and dialoguing about whether Langley needs an overdose prevention site. Obviously… we do.”

Rallies, marches and vigils are planned for Wednesday afternoon and evening in many B.C. communities, as well as a large event in Victoria.

“We are going to remember, but we are also going to raise our voices and say we’ve got to do more. People need to take a stand and say life is important to preserve. Suffering might be part of that journey, but people recover. In fact, one of the most encouraging statistics in research on addiction is that most people recover over time. However, in the midst of a toxic drug poisoning crisis, there is no time,” Snyder said.

Earlier this month, the BC Coroners Service revealed that more than 10,000 people had died since 2016, when the toxic drug crisis was declared a public health emergency in B.C.

Last month, B.C.’s chief coroner told CityNews the province was on track to set a new record in 2022 when it comes to drug deaths. She said she wasn’t convinced things would get better anytime soon.

In May, B.C. became the first province to be granted an exemption to federal drug laws in order to decriminalize small amounts of certain substances for personal possession.

Events in Langley start at 6 p.m. at Douglas Park, ahead of a walk to Innes Square and back. Community agencies and resources will be available, with naloxone training to help reverse overdoses also being provided.

A candlelight vigil will be held at dusk.

-With files from Kareem Gouda