B.C. paramedics say they responded to a record-breaking overdose calls in the past 24 hours B次元官网网址� marking a second month in a row of concerning spikes in drug poisonings after the day income assistance cheques are released.

BC Emergency Health Services says frontline workers responded to 146 overdose patients, including 44 in Vancouver, 12 in Surrey and a further 12 in Victoria.

Since 2009, 40 per cent more people have died on what many call Welfare Wednesday and the days that follow, according to 2018 research from the B.C. Centre for Substance Use.

From January to March of this year, 498 people have died of drug poisonings amid an increasingly toxic street drug supply. ThatB次元官网网址檚 compared to 268 in 2020 B次元官网网址� B.C.B次元官网网址檚 deadliest year in history.

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ashley.wadhwani@bpdigital.ca
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