One-hundred sixty-seven PEOPLE HAVE DIED OF COVID-19 in BC. Total.
One-hundred seventy people died of illicit drug overdoses in BC just last month.
COVID-19 and the opioid crisis have more in common than you might think.
No one wants to contract COVID-19, just as no one wants to become dependent on drugs.
Both can be the result of poor decision-making in spite of persistent and ubiquitous public messaging – though they can both be the result of far more complex factors.
Both COVID and opioids are potentially deadly.
And, in a way, both are communicable.
While COVID transfers itself to others, opioid overdoses transfer another illness: trauma.
They so often enter the patient through trauma, leave the patient dead, and then pass on the trauma to others.
There was a reason Dr. Bonnie Henry was near tears when discussing the latest overdose death totals at Thursday’s news conference.
She knew that the measures she had enacted to keep people apart during the pandemic were contributing to the conditions that heightened the risk of overdose death.
Too many people, she said, especially young men, were using drugs alone — in no danger of passing on COVID-19 but in greater danger of overdosing with no hope of timely medical intervention.
Then there were the border closures that disrupted drug supply chains and forced users to turn to tainted products.
And finally, the easy money provided by governments meant to help keep people afloat while the economy faltered was used by some to find ways to numb their pain.
As much as there is urgency to find a vaccine for COVID-19, there should also be urgency to address the opioid overdose epidemic and that urgency must be accompanied by political will.
But the issue is not a slam dunk politically. Many opponents to sensible, evidence-based measures that could curb overdose deaths are either blinded by their own self-righteousness or have their heads buried in the sand.
And those people vote.
So until that changes, there will be more tears from health officials, more tears from friends and family members and more needless deaths.
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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.
