The latest numbers for illicit drug overdose deaths is out for B.C. and they show over the month of May overdoses account for an average of more than 4 deaths each day.
The BC Coroners Service says 129 persons died as a result of illicit drug use, down only slightly from April when 136 people died.
Until November 2016, B.C. had never seen as many as 100 drug deaths in a single month. In every month since then, the number has exceeded 110, with the all-time high being December 2016 when 159 people lost their lives to overdoses.
And the numbers of deaths associated to fentanyl also continues to climb. During 2016, the proportion of deaths in which fentanyl was detected remained stable at about 60%. But for the first four months of this year the figure has grown to 72% -- indicating continued toxicity in the drug supply. The number of deaths in which fentanyl was detected in May is not yet available.
Almost three-quarters of the illicit drug deaths involved people between 30 and 59 years of age. More than 4 out of 5 were male. More than 90% of the deaths occurred in indoor settings with none reported from supervised consumption sites or overdose prevention sites. The cities with the highest numbers of deaths are Vancouver, Surrey and Victoria.
Chief coroner Lisa Lapointe reiterates the number of deaths shows that the risks remain extreme, the drug supply is unsafe, and casual and occasional users are at high risk of overdose due to their opioid naiveté.
The BC Coroners Service also notes that the Provincial Toxicology Centre, which performs toxicology testing on suspected illicit drug deaths, has now begun testing for the more-deadly carfentanil. Statistics on deaths in which carfentanil was detected will be available in the coming months.