British Columbia saw a marginally lower death toll from illicit drugs in March, yet it still marked the 18th consecutive month with more 150 drug deaths according to a report from the BC Coroners Service released Tuesday..“It is encouraging to see a decrease in the number of lives lost in February and March relative to previous months, but we know the illicit drug market continues to present enormous risks to our community members,” said Lisa Lapointe, chief coroner..“The volatile illicit market remains unreliable and unpredictable, and continues to take the lives of loved ones across the province.”.March had 165 deaths and the province remains on track to have, yet again, the deadliest year for fatal overdoses..Lapointe urges users to exercise great care, only using a small amount first and ensuring someone is nearby to provide emergency aid if need be..The 165 lives lost in March represents 5.3 people every day, and it it the second-highest number of lives lost in the calendar month of March. However Lapointe highlights that the number is 44 fewer deaths than the 209 reported in January..The last time BC saw a comparable decrease was September 2021 when 154 people died compared to 195 the previous month of August 2021. Yet the decrease did not last, as more than 200 people died per month for the following four months..The newly released toxicological testing data shows the detection rate for benzodiazepines decreased by 32% in March, however fentanyl and its analogues continued surging. Fentanyl is roughly 100 times stronger than morphine, and more than 90% of returned samples tested positive for the synthetic opioid in March..A major concern highlighted in the report is that etizolam was found in 40% of illicit drug deaths between July 2020 and March 2022. Etizolam is a benzodiazepine analogue and non-opioid sedative that does not respond to naloxone, creating life-saving challenges..“Toxic illicit drugs are taking lives and inflicting devastating impacts on people from all walks of life,” Lapointe said..“Along with the obvious tragedy of fatal outcomes, survivors of drug-toxicity emergency events often experience serious long-term health challenges.”.Lapointe says she is hopeful that access to “safer supply” will be expanded across the province, and as a result, “diminish the terrible harms people in BC are experiencing.”.Highly populated areas such as Vancouver, Surrey, and Victoria continue seeing the highest number of drug deaths, however when looking at the rates of death, Northern Health region has the highest rate among all the health authorities at 52.3 per 100,000 people..So far this year, 548 people have died from illicit drug overdose. Last year saw a total of 2,236..The overdose crisis was declared a public health emergency in BC in 2016..Reid Small is a BC-based reporter for the Western Standard.,rsmall@westernstandard.news,.Twitter.com/reidsmall
