Victoria – The BC Coroners Service reports that toxic illicit drugs have claimed the lives of 158 British Columbians in March 2021.
This raises the total number of deaths in the province for the year to 498.
On Wednesday, Fraser Health released yet another overdose alert.
By Health Authority (HA), in 2021, the highest number of illicit drug toxicity deaths were in Frase rand Vancouver Coastal Health Authorities(171and 137deaths, respectively), making up 62% of all such deaths during this period.
“Once again, we are reminded of the incredible toll that the toxic drug emergency is having on communities throughout our province,” said Lisa Lapointe, chief coroner, BC Coroners Service. “The illicit drug supply in British Columbia is volatile and unpredictable, and anyone using a substance from this unregulated market is vulnerable to serious injury or death.”
The 158 deaths represent a 41% increase over the 112 deaths recorded in March 2020 and ties the previous high for March established in 2018. For the third consecutive month, more than five British Columbians lost their lives to illicit drugs every day, and the yearly total to date surpassed the previous high of 401 deaths recorded between January and March 2017. The provincewide death rate for 2021 stands at 38.3 per 100,000 residents.
As in previous months, the drug supply continues to be volatile in terms of variability and toxicity. Carfentanil was detected in 18 deaths in March, bringing the total number of carfentanil-related deaths in 2021 to 48. For comparison, carfentanil was detected in 65 deaths between January and December 2020. Additionally, the detection rate of benzodiazepines has increased from 15% of samples in July 2020 to 51% of samples in February 2021.
