By Tom Mark

Overdose Deaths Still Double 2016 Rate

Aug 4, 2017 | 10:55 AM

Numbers out today show fewer people died from Illicit drug use in June than in May in BC, but the numbers are still alarming.

Statistics from the BC Coroners Service show the number of overdose deaths in the province is up 88% compared with the same period in 2016.

Provisional data show that there were 111 suspected drug overdose deaths in June 2017, an average of 3.7 each day and a 61% increase from June 2016.

This increases the provisional number of deaths for the year to date to 780, up from 414 at this time in 2016, and shows that almost three-quarters of all illicit drug deaths involved persons between the ages of 30 and 59 years.

Four out of five who died were male.

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Of note, nine in 10 illicit drug overdose deaths occurred inside, including more than half in private residences (57.4%).

No deaths occurred at any supervised consumption site or at any of the drug overdose prevention sites.

Vernon recorded only one death in June, bringing the total for the year to 13.

Kelowna had 10 deaths for a six month total of 46.

“While it’s a relief to see the lowest number of deaths for any month to date in 2017, we are still seeing a significant increase in illicit drug overdose deaths compared even with this time last year and are continuing to lose loved and valued members of our communities at a tragic rate,” said chief coroner Lisa Lapointe. “The drug supply is unsafe and anyone using illicit drugs is at high risk for overdose. I urge anyone using drugs, whether casually or regularly, not to use alone. Many deaths our coroners attend are in response to people who overdose with no one available to provide or summon critical and immediate medical assistance.”

So far in 2017, Fraser Health and Vancouver Coastal Health Authority have the highest number (258 and 249, respectively) of illicit drug overdose deaths, making up 65% of all illicit drug overdose deaths in B.C.

The BC Coroners Service also released updated data on fentanyl-detected deaths from January to May 2017, with 78% (525 of 669) of the illicit drug deaths reported during that period having fentanyl detected, more than double the number of those deaths occurring during the same period in 2016.

Cocaine was still the main drug of choice.

BC’s new Minister for Mental Health and Addictions, Judy Darcy, says the government is working to bringing the numbers down.

“including expanding the availability of naloxone, strengthening the peer distribution network for naloxone, working to increase even further the number of physicians who are able to prescribe suboxone and naloxone.”

More than that, she says more needs to be done across all ministries to deal with the root causes of drug use.

BC’s chief medical health officer, Dr Perry Kendall says the numbers are sobering.

He says there is more success in reversing overdoses when they happen when someone is around.

Kendall says health authorities are exploring ways to get more people to have access to naloxone kits, mentioning the possibility of apps that people could use or being able to get one online after taking a course on how to recognize and overdose.

Those who are in the company of someone who has used drugs should note that heavy snoring and the inability to be awakened are signs of the respiratory distress caused by an overdose; 911 should be called immediately if these symptoms are present.

It is important to note that new federal legislation provides immunity from simple possession charges for those who call 911.

by Tom Mark