As of July 31, drug overdose deaths have claimed 40 lives in Prince George this year, according to the newest data from the B.C. Coroners Service Report.
There have now been 95 deaths have been reported in the Northern Health Region, up 14 from the 81 deaths reported last month. Of those, five were in the Northern Interior (which includes Prince George), eight in the Northwest while none occurred in the Northeast.
By health authority, in 2022, the highest rates were in Northern Health with 53 deaths per 100,000 individuals followed by Vancouver Coastal Health with 49 per 100,000.
Overall, the rate in BC is 42 deaths per 100,000 individuals in 2022
Throughout the province at least 192 lives were lost to toxic substances in July, according to the BC Coroners Service.
The 192 lives lost in July represent a 31 per cent increase over the number of deaths recorded in June 2022 (147), and equates to approximately 6.2 deaths per day.
"As they have for the past seven years, these numbers reflect the ever-present threat that illicit drugs pose to substance users across B.C.," said Lisa Lapointe, chief coroner in a news release.
"The unregulated drug market continues to be volatile and toxic, and anyone using drugs purchased from illicit suppliers is at high risk for serious harm or death. We continue to urge those using illicit drugs to access drug-checking services, where available, or visit overdose-prevention sites, where available."
Nearly 1,300 deaths due to toxic drugs have been reported to the BC Coroners Service between January and July, which is a record number for the first seven months of a calendar year.
Illicit drug toxicity is the leading cause of unnatural death in British Columbia and is second only to cancers in terms of years of life lost. At least 10,158 British Columbians have been lost to the illicit drug supply since the public-health emergency of substance-related harms was first declared in April 2016.
"Families and communities across the province are continuing to suffer the sudden and tragic deaths of loved ones due to toxic drugs," said Lapointe.
"Whether they are chronically substance-dependent or using only occasionally, all of those who access the illicit drug market are vulnerable to serious harms. The subject-matter experts on the recent death review panel urgently recommended significant expansion of safer supply in communities throughout the province in order to reduce the devastation caused by this public-health crisis."
Sheila Malcolmson, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, said the poisoned drug crisis has hit all communities in the province.
The street drug supply continues to be terribly, increasingly toxic. In the first months of 2020, the concentration of fentanyl detected in illicit drug deaths was between four per cent and eight per cent. In July 2022, it increased to 23 per cent, said Malcolmson, in a news release.
"That is why we continue to expand much-needed harm-reduction services, particularly safe supply and inhalation overdose prevention sites, and we are leading the country on decriminalization of people who use drugs,” added Malcolmson.
"There is more to do. I am committed to continuing to expand and evolve our government's response to this public-health emergency to turn the tide and save lives."
