Drug Deaths

• B.C. coroner says fentanyl the main culprit as 184 people died of toxic drugs in June

  Chief Coroner Lisa Lapointe says illicit fentanyl is the main culprit driving the crisis in towns and cities big and small across British Columbia.

  Health

  Jul 19
  
• 38 suspected fatal drug overdoses so far in 2023 for Peterborough area

  Peterborough Public Health reports through so far in 2023, there have been 195 emergency department visits for drug poisonings — down from 285 over the same time period in 2022.

  Health

  Jul 10
  
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• Safe supply: Are prescribed opioids being sold on B.C.’s streets, and if so, is it a problem?

  Allegations that opioids from B.C.'s prescribed safer supply initiative are being diverted to the street became a hot political issue in the B.C. legislature this week.

  Health

  May 11
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• B.C. toxic drug deaths in 2023 approach record numbers

  Numbers released by the BC Coroners Service show deaths from toxic, unregulated drugs have nudged record levels across the province for the second year in a row.

  Health

  Apr 18
• Island Health testing overdose-detecting sensors in select washrooms

  The health authority has installed the motion detecting sensors, which track how long a person has occupied the bathroom and whether they are moving at six high-risk locations.

  Health

  Mar 17
• 2,300 British Columbians died from toxic drug supply in 2022

  Drug toxicity remains the leading cause of unnatural death in British Columbia, and is second only to cancers in terms of years of life lost. 

  Health

  Jan 31
• Okanagan saw toxic drug deaths surge this summer

  Nearly 1,300 deaths due to toxic drugs have been reported to the BC Coroners Service between January and July, which is a record number for the first seven months of a year.

  Crime

  Sep 15, 2022
• ‘They’re going to die’: San Francisco, Vancouver drug crises have advocate calling for intervention

  Many of San Francisco’s close to 8,000 homeless people end up in the Tenderloin – the epicenter of a drug crisis that claimed 700 lives in 2020 and 650 more in 2021.

  Health

  Sep 6, 2022
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• More than 10,000 have died from illicit drug use since B.C. declared public health emergency

  According to the BC Coroners Service, the number of overdose deaths recorded between January and June 2022 is the highest ever recorded in the first six months of a calendar year.

  Canada

  Aug 16, 2022
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• Dedicated teams to provide drug poisoning prevention and response in downtown Edmonton

  Operated by Boyle Street, the goal is for team members to provide drug poisoning prevention and response throughout the downtown pedway system and surrounding streets.

  Health

  May 31, 2022