More than 2,200 people will die from toxic drugs in British Columbia in 2022, making it the second deadliest year on record.
State coroners on Tuesday said there were 2,272 suspected drug poisoning deaths last year, just short of the record 2,306 deaths in 2021, most of them inside private homes. was a middle-aged man of
The state also reported what is believed to be the first death at an overdose prevention site (OPS).
Coroners had previously reported 2,224 deaths in 2021, based on preliminary statistics. That figure was updated on Tuesday.
This number equates to 6 or more deaths each day, or about 1 death every 4 hours.
The BC Chief Coroner and other health officials will be speaking on the stats at 10:30 a.m. PT.
CBC News is live-streaming the press conference.
The stats were released on the first day of BC’s drug decriminalization initiative. This initiative will legalize the possession of very small amounts of certain illegal drugs by people over the age of 18.
The federal minister for mental health and addiction touted the three-year pilot project as “bold action and significant policy change” [the] A crisis,” and supporters lamented it. It’s just a small step in an emergency that has long demanded big action..
Under the new exemption, people 18 and older in British Columbia can now bring up to 2.5 grams of cocaine, opioids, MDMA and methamphetamine for personal use. Police have been instructed to provide “information on health and social support” rather than seizing drugs from people, officials said.
Possession for trafficking or trading is still illegal.
The 2.5-gram threshold is about half the amount requested when the state first applied for the waiver in late 2021. Drug users say both thresholds. too lowthe given method most people consume substances.
Illicit drug toxicity continues to be the leading cause of unnatural death in the state. BC Coroner Service, goes far beyond car accidents and suicides.extreme concentrations of powerful opioids Fentanyl Most fatal overdoses have been detected.
Since the declaration of a public health emergency over drug deaths in April 2016, more than 11,000 British Columbians have died from toxic and illegal drugs.
The last two months of 2022 have been the deadliest of the year, with 182 deaths in November and another 210 in December.
The coroner said there was no indication that prescribed safe supplies contributed to deaths from illicit drugs.
