Canada Journal – News of the World Articles and videos to bring you the biggest Canadian news stories from across the country every day
There was a slight decrease in the number of illicit drug deaths in B.C. last month, though the issue remains a grave concern.
The BC Coroners Service says illicit drug use accounted for 116 deaths in January, an average of more than seven deaths every two days – and still the third-highest number ever for a single month.
The January data show that almost 60 per cent of the illicit drug deaths involved persons between the ages of 30 and 49 years. Continuing the trend shown in 2016, four out of five who died were male. More than 90 per cent of the deaths occurred in indoor settings with none reported from supervised consumption sites or overdose prevention sites.
Chief coroner Lisa Lapointe reiterated that persons who are not currently drug-dependent should avoid experimentation or any casual use of illicit drugs.
“The continuing high number of deaths shows that the risks remain extreme.”
Lapointe noted that early indications are that many of those of who have died are drug-dependent and in many cases have not succeeded through a variety of treatment programs.
“For these people, I think we would be wise to seriously consider the carefully considered suggestion made by provincial health officer Dr. Perry Kendall – the possibility of providing clean, medical-grade heroin to that small subset of users for whom nothing else has worked,” said Lapointe.
In the meantime, she repeated the urging that anyone using illicit drugs, be they opiates, amphetamines or cocaine, should do so only where medical help is available, or, at the very least, a sober person with access to, and training in, the use of naloxone. Many communities now have implemented overdose prevention sites where help is immediately available in case of overdose.
The BC Coroners Service continues to work with the B.C. government’s Joint Task Force on Overdose Response and with health, community and law enforcement agencies to try to reduce this death toll.
Agencies/Canadajournal
