(CFJC Today/File photo).

By Aaron Schulze

Overdose Numbers

Kamloops records six overdose deaths in June, 32 so far in 2021

Aug 31, 2021 | 9:51 AM

VICTORIA – Overdose deaths were down in B.C. in June 2021 compared to the same time last year (185), but the numbers remain grim in the province.

B.C. recorded 159 deaths due to drug toxicity, the ninth consecutive month of at least 150 deaths.

According to the BC Coroners Service’s latest data on Aug. 31, at least 1,011 lives were lost to suspected illicit drug toxicity in B.C. between January and June 2021, the highest recorded figure in the first six months of a calendar year. Eighty per cent of the deaths in 2021 were males.

The data reveals drug toxicity is now the leading cause of death in B.C. for those aged 19 to 39, and second in terms of reducing total potential years of life.

As of June 30, Kamloops saw six more drug toxicity deaths, raising the 2021 total to 32. This year is already the fifth highest overdose death year in the last decade, and 2021 is on pace to slightly top the highest year of 60 deaths in 2020.

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As with previous months, the BC Coroners Service says the illicit drug supply in B.C. is both variable and increasingly toxic, with extreme fentanyl concentrations and carfentanil showing up more frequently in toxicology testing. The coroners service says the safe supply is not playing a role in the ongoing drug-toxicity crisis.

Post-mortem testing shows that fentanyl continues to be the substance involved in most drug-toxicity deaths – 85 per cent in the first six months of 2021. Cocaine, methamphetamine and etizolam are also present in a significant number of deaths.

“The deaths of more than 1,000 British Columbians in the first six months of 2021 is a tragic reminder that the toxic illicit drug supply remains a significant ongoing threat to public health and safety in communities throughout our province,” Chief Coroner Lisa Lapointe states. “The data released today highlights the immensity of this public health emergency and the need for a wide-scale response. This includes removing barriers to safe supply, ensuring timely access to evidence-based affordable treatment and providing those experiencing problematic substance use with compassionate and viable options to reduce risks and save lives.”

By health authority in 2021, the highest number of illicit drug-toxicity deaths were in the Fraser and Vancouver Coastal Health regions (342 and 283 deaths), making up 62 per cent of all such deaths during the six-month period. Interior Health is fourth with 159 deaths.

The highest rates of death were in Vancouver Coastal Health (46 deaths per 100,000 individuals) and Northern Health (45 per 100,000). Interior Health is third with 37.8 deaths per 100,000 individuals

Overall, the rate in B.C. is 39 deaths per 100,000 individuals.

Deaths due to drug toxicity remain the leading cause of unnatural death in BC.

Aug. 31, 2021, is International Overdose Awareness Day.