In a report just released, the agency said there were 174 deaths believed to be due to illicit drug toxicity. The tally is higher than that of February 2021, making it the deadliest February ever recorded in the crisis. It is a decrease, however, from January 2022, when 208 people lost their lives. Tuesday’s update raises the number of overdose deaths so far in 2022 to 382 and data is only available for the first two months of the year. These data raise the toll from the onset of the public health crisis in 2016 to 9,410 lives and make February the 17th consecutive month in which more than 150 people have died from illicit substance abuse. “We continue to lose members of our community at an unprecedented and frightening rate,” Chief Medical Examiner Lisa Lapointe said in a statement through the Department of Public Safety. The February report equates to an average of 6.2 people who die every day of this month, the majority of whom were men between the ages of 30 and 59. “The deaths of other inhabitants of 174 BC, so many of them young and middle-aged men with years of life ahead of them, are another reminder that urgent action is needed throughout the province. I express my deepest condolences to family, friends and “Communities mourn the loss of a loved one,” Lapointe said. The BC Medical Examiner’s Office noted that the overdose rate for people aged 18 and under was higher that month, although it remains relatively low at six deaths so far this year. But, the BCCS noted, it is higher than the zero deaths of people in this age group last month. The death rate among women was also higher, while the death toll of men from illicit drugs was lower. The BCCS said the cities with the highest death tolls were among the most densely populated in the province: Vancouver and Surrey, as well as Victoria. Nearly two-thirds of the people who died lived in the coastal areas of Vancouver and Fraser Health – again, the most densely populated areas in the county. However, looking at death rates by health sector, Northern Health has been most affected. The rate for the area is now 63 deaths per 100,000 people, compared to the provincial rate of 44 per 100,000. As is often the case, most of the people who died were not on sidewalks or streets but indoors in private homes. Fifty-six percent of deaths occurred in private homes, compared with 29 percent in homes such as social housing and one-bedroom hotels (SROs). Another 13 percent of deaths were outside, either in vehicles and parks, on streets and sidewalks, or elsewhere. No deaths have been reported in areas of supervised consumption or overdose prevention, the BCCS said, and there is no indication that safer supply programs – strongly encouraged by the BC chief medical officer – have contributed to the death toll. As it often does, Lapointe used the February update as an opportunity to push for such programs, saying it understands that the concept is difficult for some to understand, but that it is the best way to save the lives of those who turn to “profit.” ». “directed, chaotic illegal drug market.” Among the trends in the examination of deaths by the service in February was the “rapid” increase in the amount of benzodiazepines in the supply of drugs on the road. It has been noted in previous announcements that the presence of benzoids is a concern, as drugs may inhibit the rescue effect of the naloxone antidote from overdose. According to the BCCS, benzenes were found in 15 percent of the samples in July 2020. By February of this year, the drugs were found in 43 percent of the samples. Also, more and more often in the road supply of the province is the analog benzodiazepine etizolam, which also does not respond to naloxone. The non-opioid sedative was found in 41 percent of deaths from illicit drug toxicity where there were rapid toxicological tests, the medical examiner said. The presence of carfentanil analog is also monitored by the BCCS. Data collected over the past two years suggest that the most common drugs in these types of overdoses are fentanyl (85 percent), cocaine (46 percent), methamphetamine / amphetamine (42 percent), and other opioids (23 percent). percent). Recent data have shown that extreme concentrations of the potent opioid fentanyl have been found in more than 20 percent of drug-related deaths. “Fentanyl is still the predominant substance found in post-mortem trials,” a BCCS news release said. Found in the bodies of 85 percent of people who died in 2021. As has been the case for a long time, illicit drugs are by far the leading cause of unnatural deaths in BC. Last year, 2,232 people died from the record-breaking illicit drugs, compared with a previous record in 2020 of 1,767 people.
