A skyrocketing number of deaths related to drug toxicity continue in the Nanaimo and central Vancouver Island regions. They mirror a similar story across B.C. (The Canadian Press)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

TOXIC DRUG CRISIS

Island poised to set new records for drug toxicity deaths

Nov 9, 2021 | 9:27 AM

NANAIMO — The grip of B.C.’s toxic drug crisis continues to tighten around Vancouver Island and the province as a whole.

The BC Coroners Service reported 1,534 people across the province have died due to an increasingly toxic drug supply between January and the end of September. Island Health accounted for 239 fatalities.

Central Vancouver Island has reported 75 fatalities linked to the crisis through the first nine months of the year, including 14 in the last two months. The region saw 99 deaths in 2017 and 98 in 2020.

In Nanaimo, 30 people lost their lives over the same time period. Five occurred during August and September.

The greater Nanaimo region saw 38 fatalities in 2020 and set a record in 2017 with 56 deaths linked to the toxic drug crisis.

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High rates of fatalities in most areas of B.C. have the province set to eclipse 2020 numbers, which was the deadliest year on record for deaths related to illicit drug toxicity. A total of 1,736 people lost their lives last year.

A graph from the BC Coroners Service shows the skyrocketing rates of deaths from illicit toxic drugs in B.C. (BC Coroners Service)

The 181 deaths in August province-wide and 152 in September represent the highest ever totals for those respective months.

Total fatalities from toxic drugs are up 24 per cent over 2020 and represent 5.5 people dying every day across B.C.

The province’s total death toll through nine months this year is nearly 300 more than all of 2020, the previous record year.

Fentanyl continues to be the driving force behind many deaths, detected in approximately 84 per cent such cases this year. The Coroners Service noted in its report, released Tuesday, Nov. 9, cartentanil usage is surging.

“Carfentanil has been detected in 137 suspected illicit drug toxicity deaths in 2021 (Jan-Sep) and 65 deaths in 2020.”

Data from the Coroners Service from September is subject to minor adjustments as investigations for many cases are still underway.

Among the drug types involved in completed illicit drug toxicity death investigations, illicit fentanyl increased from 5 per cent in 2012 to 85 per cent in 2020, the report noted. Methamphetamine also increased from 14 per cent in 2012 to 43 per cent in 2020.

The report also suggested cocaine and other opioid usage steadily declined between 2012 and 2020, however was still present in 45 per cent of deaths in 2020.

BC Coroners Service report also suggested 71 per cent of deaths linked to toxic drugs were people between the ages of 30 and 59, with 79 per cent being men.

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