There were 161 suspected illicit drug overdose deaths in British Columbia in March 2018, the second-highest monthly total to date, based on the latest data provided by the BC Coroners Service. This represents a 24 per cent increase over the March 2017 total of 130 illicit drug overdose deaths, and a 58 per cent increase over February 2018’s suspected total of 102. The number of illicit drug overdose deaths in March 2018 equates to about 5.2 deaths per day for the month.
There were 162 illicit drug overdose deaths in December 2016, the highest number recorded in the province in one month.
Preliminary data indicate that through the first three months of 2018, fentanyl was detected in post-mortem testing in more than eight in every 10 deaths (83 per cent). Seven in every 10 of those who died were aged 19 to 49 years. So far in 2018, 69 per cent of those dying were aged 19 to 49, and individuals aged 19 to 59 have accounted for 91 per cent of illicit drug overdose deaths.
Males accounted for 82 per cent of all suspected illicit drug overdose deaths over the same period.
Through the first three months of 2018, there have been 391 suspected illicit drug overdose deaths in B.C., on par with the 400 reported through the first three months of 2017. The majority of decedents died indoors (90.5 per cent). No deaths have been reported at supervised consumption sites or drug overdose prevention sites.
Rates of illicit drug overdose deaths are highest in Vancouver, Northern Interior, South Vancouver Island, Okanagan, and Thompson Cariboo Health Services Delivery Areas. All Health Authorities except for Interior Health saw an increase in the number of illicit drug overdose deaths in March 2018 compared to February 2018. There have been 12 illicit drug overdose deaths in Kamloops in the first three months of 2018.
Among the communities in the Thompson Cariboo Health Services Delivery Area that have seen illicit drug overdose deaths in January to March 2018 are Cache Creek, Lillooet, Logan Lake, Lytton, and Merritt.
In all, 1,448 British Columbians died due to suspected illicit drug overdoses in 2017, up from 991 in 2016 and 522 in 2015.
The BC Coroners Service urgently reminds those using any illicit drugs not to use alone. Those using substances should have someone nearby equipped and trained to administer naloxone or able to call 9-1-1 immediately if an overdose occurs.
Many first responders, including all RCMP officers and ambulance personnel, now carry naloxone, and in October 2016 regulations were amended to enable all health care professionals and first responders to administer naloxone outside of a hospital setting. The amendments also allow members of the public to administer naloxone, so that people who work in a setting where drug overdoses are more likely to happen are able to help.
Naloxone—which can be injected or given as a nasal spray—reverses the effects of an opioid overdose, buying time until the patient can receive more extensive medical treatment. The drug is now available to purchase, without a prescription, throughout the province.
The Take Home Naloxone program offers the drug at no charge to people at risk of an opioid overdose and people likely to witness and respond to an overdose, such as a family member or friend of someone at risk. Tens of thousands of kits have been distributed.
For a list of sites offering the Take Home Naloxone program, visit http://towardtheheart.com/site-finder.
Read the latest report on illicit drug deaths at http://ow.ly/GBZy30jULVf.
editorial@accjournal.ca
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