Prince George is trending in the right direction compared to the rest of B.C. in the number of deaths by drug overdoses.
According to the BC Coroners Service, there were a total of 17 reported deaths by fentanyl-laced illicit drugs in the northern capital between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31 last year, a 63 per cent decrease from 2018, which saw 46 during the same time frame.
In the Northern Health region altogether, there was a 37 per cent drop with 55 overdose deaths from the same tested drugs in 2019 from 87 a year earlier.
Within the northern interior of the health authority, which includes Prince George, there were 25 reported fentanyl-detected illicit drug deaths equating to a 54 per cent decline from 54 in 2018.
The BC Coroners Service says the province as a whole saw an average of nearly three deaths per day in 2019 from illicit drug overdoses with 981 in total.
However, this represents a 36 per cent drop from 2018, the lowest B.C. has seen since 2016.
“More than 5,000 lives have been lost in B.C. since 2016 as a result of illicit drug toxicity,” said Chief Coroner Lisa Lapointe in a news release this morning (Feb. 24).
“These deaths have deeply hurt families and communities across our province and represent an immense loss of potential in all walks of life. The number of illicit drug toxicity deaths in 2019 remains higher than motor vehicle incidents, suicides and homicides combined, and B.C. continues to bear the heaviest toll of the impacts of the unpredictable, profit-driven, illicit drug market.”
Lapointe says she urges for better and great access to safe supply for those struggling with substance use disorder.
The release adds more than four in every five deaths in 2019 had fentanyl detected in post-mortem testing.
Vancouver Coastal Health had the highest 2019 rate of illicit drug toxicity deaths (23 deaths per 100,000 people) followed by Northern Health (22.5 deaths per 100,000 individuals).
