2,272 British Columbians died from toxic illicit drugs in 2022: coroner
CBC
More than 2,200 people died in British Columbia from toxic drugs over the course of 2022, making it the second deadliest year on record.
The province's coroner on Tuesday said there were 2,272 suspected drug toxicity deaths last year, just shy of the record 2,306 people who died in 2021. Most were middle-aged men inside private homes.
The province also reported what is believed to have been the first death at an overdose prevention site, or OPS.
The coroner had previously reported 2,224 people had died in 2021 based on preliminary statistics. That figure was updated Tuesday.
The numbers equate roughly to more than six deaths every day, or around one person every four hours.
B.C.'s chief coroner and other health officials are speaking about the statistics at 11 a.m. PT. CBC News will livestream the news conference.
The statistics were released on the first day of B.C.'s drug decriminalization initiative, which makes possession of very small amounts of certain illicit drugs legal for those aged 18 and above.
The federal minister of mental health and addictions touted the three-year pilot project as "bold actions and significant policy change" to help "bring an end to [the] crisis," while advocates lamented it was just another small step against an emergency that has long demanded major action.
Under the new exemption, British Columbians over 18 can now carry up to 2.5 grams of cocaine, opioids, MDMA and methamphetamine for personal use. Officials say police have been instructed not to seize drugs from people, but instead offer "information about health and social supports."
Possession for the purpose of trafficking — or dealing — is still illegal.
The 2.5-gram threshold is about half the amount the province had requested when it first applied for the exemption in late 2021. Drug users have said both thresholds were far too low, given how most people consume substances.
Illicit drug toxicity remains the leading cause of unnatural death in the province, according to the B.C. Coroners Service, far above car crashes or suicides. Extreme concentrations of the powerful opioid fentanyl were detected in the vast majority of fatal overdoses.
More than 11,000 British Columbians have died due to toxic illicit drugs since a public health emergency was declared over drug deaths in April 2016.
The last two months of 2022 were among the deadliest of the year, with 182 people lost in November and another 210 in December.
