File Photo (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By Aaron Schulze

Overdose Numbers

Kamloops records 11 overdose deaths in January; 207 in B.C.

Mar 11, 2022 | 9:15 AM

KAMLOOPS — The first month of 2022 was deadly for overdoses in Kamloops.

According to preliminary data by the BC Coroners Service, at least 207 British Columbians died due to toxic illicit drugs in January 2022, 11 of them in Kamloops.

The 11 recorded deaths in Kamloops in January made it the third most affected township in B.C. behind only Vancouver and Surrey. Kamloops lost a record 78 lives due to illicit toxic drugs in 2021, with only one death in January 2021.

January is the fourth consecutive month in which more than 200 lives were lost to the illicit drug supply in B.C., and the third highest in the province’s history.

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Post-mortem toxicology results underscore the increased volatility and toxicity of the illicit drug supply. Between November 2021 and January 2022, approximately 23 per cent of tests returned extreme levels of fentanyl – concentrations exceeding 50 micrograms per litre – compared to 13 per cent of results between April 2020 and October 2021.

In mid-February, Interior Health issued an urgent alert for the entire region due to extreme levels of fentanyl and benzodiazepines.

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