The overdose death toll in the Okanagan continues to grow, with 15 lives lost in the first month of 2023.
According to the latest data from the BC Coroners Service, there were eight illicit drug deaths in Kelowna in January, three in Vernon and two in Penticton.
The Interior Health Authority, which the Okanagan falls within, saw 31 deaths in total.
In 2022, 87 people died in Kelowna, compared with 76 a year earlier. Vernon saw 40 people die in 2022 from toxic drug deaths, which was a slight improvement from a year earlier, when 42 people died. Penticton saw 27 illicit drug deaths.
The high rate of deaths is consistent with what is happening in other parts of the province.
Provincewide, the BC Coroners Service reported that 211 people died in January, bringing the number of deaths to at least 11,195 since the public health emergency was declared in 2016.
A statement from the coroner’s office says the death rate in January was 47 people per 100,000, more than double the 20.5 death rate that prompted B.C.’s medical health officer to declare the emergency almost seven years ago.
“Once again, our agency is reporting on preventable losses of life in heart-breaking numbers,” Lisa Lapointe, chief coroner, said.
“We are nearing the seventh anniversary of the declaration of the public-health emergency into substance-related harms, and the drug-poisoning crisis continues to cost lives and communities at an unprecedented rate. Toxic drugs pose a constant and ever-present danger to anyone who uses drugs. Anyone using any substance purchased on the unregulated illicit drug market is at risk of serious harm or death.”
LaPointe said recent announcements made by the province that are focused on increasing treatment and recovery options where and when people need them are encouraging.
Members of coroners’ inquests and death review panels have consistently recommended a continuum of care that includes evidence-based treatment options, access to safer supplies and other essential harm-reduction tools to end this crisis, including drug-checking, overdose prevention sites and eliminating stigma and criminalization.
All of these, she said, are key responses that are necessary to address the issue.
It is estimated that there are more than 80,000 people in B.C. with opioid use disorder.
“Thousands of others regularly use stimulants such as cocaine. All of these members of our communities are currently at risk of sudden death,” LaPointe said.
“As noted by the all-party Select Standing Committee on Health in its November 2022 report: ‘… individuals and communities across the province need to come together with open minds and open hearts to turn the tide on this public health emergency.'”