A staggering 1,489 people died from a drug overdose in B.C. last year.
ThatB次元官网网址檚 roughly four people dying per day, across all corners of the province, the B.C. Coroner Service said in a news conference Thursday.
In 2017, there were 1,486 lives lost across the province, which has seen the lionB次元官网网址檚 share of the overdose crisis nationwide.
Speaking to reporters at the B.C. legislature in Victoria, the provinceB次元官网网址檚 chief coroner Lisa Lapointe called the illicit drug supply on the streets unpredictable and unmanageable.
B次元官网网址淭he almost 1,500 deaths in B.C. in 2018 due to illicit drug overdoses far outweigh the numbers of people dying from motor vehicle incidents, homicides and suicides combined,B次元官网网址� she said.
B次元官网网址淚nnovative and evidence-based approaches are necessary if we want to effect meaningful change and stop the dying. We need to be prepared to do things differently to save lives.B次元官网网址�
Dr. Bonnie Henry says Portuguese and other legalization models are being studied, to make recommendations later this year
B次元官网网址� Tom Fletcher (@tomfletcherbc)
According to data compiled through toxicology reports, fentanyl was detected in 85 per cent of all deaths last year, up from 82 per cent in 2017.
Nearly five times as many men died compared to women.
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The three townships to see the brunt of the crisis were Vancouver, Surrey and Victoria B次元官网网址� unchanged from the year before.
Also for a second year, not a single death happened at an overdose prevention site or safe consumption site.
Health officials renew call for decriminalization of drugs
Mental Health and Addictions Minister Judy Darcy said in a statement that the province is using B次元官网网址渆very possible available toolB次元官网网址� to curb the deaths.
She said that 4,700 deaths have been averted since introducing a number of strategies, including the provincial overdose mobile response team.
.
B次元官网网址� Ashley Wadhwani (@ashwadhwani)
says in a statement:
"We estimate our strategies have averted 4,700 deaths due to life-saving supports in place around the province. This includes scaled-up distribution of naloxone, more overdose prevention sites and better access to opioid agonist treatment."
On Thursday, B.C.B次元官网网址檚 provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry joined in on renewing calls made previously by advocates and officials B次元官网网址� including Lapointe B次元官网网址� for Ottawa to legislate access to clean drugs.
B次元官网网址淚f weB次元官网网址檙e going to turn the corner on this complex crisis, we need to find the ways to provide safer alternatives to the unregulated and highly-toxic drug supply and to end the stigma associated with criminalization of people who use drugs,B次元官网网址� she said.
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Currently, Vancouver-based Crosstown Clinic is only one facility in B.C. that gives clients injectable diacetylmorphine B次元官网网址� the active ingredient in heroin.
Since the province declared the overdose crisis a public health emergency in April 2016, the federal government has stated it will not be considering the decriminalization of opioids. Instead, it gave governments the ability to approve overdose prevention sites at a provincial level. Since then, B.C. has opened more than 40 sites. A further six federally-approved safe consumption sites have also opened.
Dr. Evan Wood, executive director with the BC Centre on Substance Use, reiterated the need to end drug prohibition.
B次元官网网址淭his latest report confirms what those on the front-line already know all too well: this crisis is not slowing down,B次元官网网址� said Wood.
B次元官网网址淚f weB次元官网网址檙e going to stop overdoses from happening, we urgently need to end the harms caused by prohibition while also implementing upstream responses that address the serious health and social consequences of untreated addiction.B次元官网网址�
ashley.wadhwani@bpdigital.ca
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