Death toll from toxic drugs exceeded 200 again in January, says coroners service

At least 207 British Columbians lost their lives to toxic drugs in January, preliminary data from the BC Coroners Service has shown.

That means every day in January, an average of 6.7 people died as a result of illicit toxic drugs. Eight of those who died were located in Burnaby—the sixth-highest toll in the province by municipality, and about 11% of all the deaths recorded in the Fraser Health region.

It was the fourth consecutive month that the provincial death toll exceeded 200, and the third-highest number ever recorded. While there was a slight decrease in the number of deaths in December 2021, there was a 10% increase over January 2021.

Men made up 82% of all recorded deaths in January, and nearly three-quarters of the people who died were aged 30-59.

And toxicology results revealed that an already volatile and toxic street supply is simply becoming worse, the coroners service said in a statement.

“Between November 2021 and January 2022, approximately 23% of tests returned extreme levels of fentanyl (concentrations exceeding 50 micrograms per litre), compared to 13% of results between April 2020 and October 2021,” the statement said.

“Both Northern Health (29%) and Vancouver Coastal Health (27%) had averages that exceeded the average for the province.”

The data was released just days after a damning death review panel report helmed by the coroners service, which called for a rapid and urgent expansion of safe supply to prevent more deaths. That report also recommended that the province immediately provide a roadmap with specific actions for the next 30, 60, and 90 days—something that mental health and addictions minister Sheila Malcolmson said would not be possible.

“As we near the six-year anniversary of the declaration of B.C.’s public health emergency into substance-related harms, it is clearer than ever that traditional approaches to substance use are hurting people and costing lives,” chief coroner Lisa Lapointe said on Friday with the release of January’s preliminary data.

“I am hopeful that the recent recommendations made by the Coroners Service Drug Toxicity Death Review Panel will support the meaningful change underway in our province and an end to this tragic crisis.”

No deaths have been reported at safe consumption or overdose prevention sites, the coroners service pointed out. There is also no indication that prescribed safer supply has contributed to illicit drug deaths—a concern that’s caused “significant reservations” for some physicians in the province.

Nevertheless, the death review panel is also calling for a range of safe supply models not just limited to physician-prescribed alternatives—noting that so far, prescribed safe supply in BC is available only to those who have been diagnosed with substance use disorders.

But advocates have pointed out that many of the more than 6,000 people who have died due to illicit drugs in BC since August 2017 didn’t experience a substance use disorder—including people who use drugs recreationally and casually.

“We will not prescribe our way out of this crisis,” said death review panel chair Michael Egilson.

“A range of safer supply models will be required to meet the different needs of people at risk of dying as a result of toxic drugs.”

The province has insisted that it is already doing the work recommended by the death review panel—although Lapointe has on several occasions expressed her frustration that the government has been so slow to respond to this crisis when compared with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mental health and addictions minister Sheila Malcolmson responded in a written statement to the January report with much the same tone that she responded to the death review panel report earlier in the week, touting BC’s work on a prescribed safe supply.

“We know the toxic drug crisis needs to be tackled from all angles. That’s why our government has made unprecedented investments in mental health and addictions supports across the spectrum of treatment, recovery and harm reduction. Tragically, this has not been enough,” Malcolmson said.

“Never before have so many people worked so hard to stand up supports, from physicians and nurses to social workers, counsellors and other front-line workers. The work they do on the ground every day is absolutely vital and for that I am eternally grateful.”

In a statement, the BC Liberals applauded the NDP government for agreeing to activate an all-party committee to discuss the crisis—something the party, along with the BC Greens, have been calling for since last June.

But mental health and addictions critic Trevor Halford called it “incredibly disappointing” that Malcolmson had rejected the death review panel’s 30/60/90 day action plan timeline.

“The minister’s refusal to accept the report’s timeline and its 23 recommendations speaks to the NDP’s lack of urgency to respond to the overdose crisis,” Halford said.

“For the sake of the thousands of BC families who have lost someone to an overdose, it’s imperative the NDP agree to these recommendations and take urgent action to help save lives.

If the crisis continues on its current trajectory, it’s likely another 200 people will die in BC due to toxic drugs this month.