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The tide of overdose deaths in BC shows no sign of abating with an average of five people now dying every day, according to the latest figures from the BC Coroners Service.
In October alone, 162 victims were linked to illicit drug toxicity and fentanyl, making it the fifth month of 2020 when the death toll exceeded 160 and the eighth consecutive month with over 100 deaths.
So far this year there have been 1,386 deaths from illegal drugs in the province. Males accounted for 80% of the deaths and 70% were aged between 30 and 59.
Chief medical examiner Lisa Lapointe said the COVID-19 pandemic prevents people from accessing harm reduction services and at the same time makes the street drug supply more toxic than ever with “extreme concentration.[s] of illegal fentanyl “.
Data from post-mortem toxicology testing suggests that the number of cases with extreme fentanyl concentrations has increased since April 2020.
“Compounding this is the supply of highly toxic drugs that exists in our communities right now,” said provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry.
“Now more than ever, we need to remove the stigma of drug use and remove the shame people feel, which prevents them from seeking help or telling friends and family.”
The effects of fentanyl are evident in data dating back nearly a decade.
In 2012, fentanyl and analogues such as carfentanil were observed in 5% of illicit drug overdoses. By 2019 that number had risen to 88%.
The presence of methamphetamine in the victims also increased from 14% to 39% over the same time period. Cocaine steadily declined as a factor between 2012 and 2019, but remains involved in 49% of deaths in 2019.
Lapointe is urging doctors to support people at risk of overdose by prescribing safe pharmaceutical alternatives to toxic street drugs through a provincial program that was expanded earlier this year.
BC declared a public health emergency in April 2016 due to an increasing number of overdose deaths.
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