More people died of illicit drug overdose in British Columbia in February 2022 than ever before for that month, according to the provincial coroners service.
In a just-released report, the service said there were 174 deaths suspected to be due to illicit drug toxicity. The toll is one higher than that of February 2021, making it the deadliest February on record in the crisis.
"We are continuing to lose members of our community at an unprecedented and terrifying rate," Chief Coroner Lisa Lapointe said in a statement through the Ministry of Public Safety. The B.C. Coroners Service noted that the overdose rate of people aged 18 and under was up that month, though still relatively low at six deaths so far this year. But, the BCCS pointed out, it's higher than the zero deaths of people in this age group the month bfore.The BCCS said the cities seeing the highest number of deaths are among the province's most populated: Vancouver and Surrey, as well as Victoria.
As is often the case, most people who died were not on sidewalks or streets but indoors in private residences. Fifty-six per cent of deaths occurred in private homes, compared to 29 per cent in residences such as social housing and single-room-occupancy hotels. Another 13 per cent of deaths were outside, whether in vehicles and parks, on streets and sidewalks or elsewhere.
Among the trends noted in the service's examination of deaths in February was a "rapid" increase of the amount of benzodiazepines in the street drug supply. Data collected over the last two years suggests the most common drugs in these types of overdoses are fentanyl , cocaine , methamphetamine/amphetamine and other opioids .
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