Friday, March 29, 2024

147 people died of toxic drug overdose in B.C. in August 2020

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The number of drug overdose deaths in B.C. slowed down last month but not by much.

A total of 147 people lost their lives to toxic illicit drugs in the month of August, continuing a disturbing trend of over 100 overdose deaths per month during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This represents a 16 per cent decline in the number of deaths compared to July—in May, June, and July, over 170 people died of drug overdose per month—but still a 71 per cent increase over the number of deaths in August 2019.

See also: B.C. top doctor authorizes nurses to prescribe drugs amid overdose crisis

So far this year, a total of 1,068 people have died from drugs, surpassing the total number of drug overdose deaths in 2019 within just eight months.

Part of the reason is due to an increase in the toxicity of the street drug supply during the pandemic.

“We know the pandemic has only made the street drug supply in B.C. more toxic than ever, putting people who use drugs at extremely high risk for overdose,” said provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry in a statement earlier this month.

From April to August 2020, approximately 14 per cent of illicit drug deaths showed signs of extreme fentanyl concentrations, compared with 8 per cent from January 2019 to March 2020.

Victoria once again recorded the third highest number of drug overdose deaths by region in B.C. last month. 95 people have died in Victoria so far this year, accounting for most of 107 overdose deaths in southern Vancouver Island in 2020.

Here’s a breakdown of how many people have lost their lives each month in 2020 by health region:

(BC Coroners Service)

In response to the overdose crisis, earlier this month Henry issued a provincial health order allowing nurses to prescribe drugs to at-risk populations in an effort to separate people from the increasingly toxic street drug supply.

Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses will be adhering to new standards through the availability of additional training, education, and access to expert consultation.

“Giving physicians and nurse practitioners the ability to prescribe safer pharmaceutical alternatives has been critical to saving lives and linking more people to treatment and other health and social services,” said Henry.

In addition, the Office of the Provincial Health Officer, Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions and the Ministry of Health are working to develop an updated policy directive for prescribers and health authorities.

This policy will expand the eligibility criteria of prescription drugs to include individuals with opioid-use disorder, other substance-use disorders or individuals with a history of accessing the toxic street drug supply who are at high risk of overdose and other drug-related harms.

It would also expand the number of access points from which these medications can be dispensed to include health authorities and community pharmacies.

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Brishti Basu
Former Senior Staff Writer and Content Manager at Victoria Buzz.

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