July was B.C.'s 2nd-deadliest month on record for illicit drug overdoses: coroner's data

More than 1,200 people have died of illicit drug overdose in British Columbia this year, the province's chief coroner said Wednesday.

More than 1,200 people have died of illicit drug overdose in British Columbia this year, the province's chief coroner said Wednesday, noting the annual death rate has nearly doubled in five years of the crisis.

The latest update from Lisa Lapointe includes 184 deaths in the month of July, making it the second-deadliest month in the years-long crisis.

Only two fewer deaths were recorded than in June 2020.

It's the 17th month in a row in B.C. where more than 100 people have died due to toxic drugs, and the equivalent of nearly 6 deaths every day.

Lapointe called the deaths a "stark reminder of the tragic and unrelenting trajectory of this public health emergency. We know that the loss of each of these individuals leaves a devastated circle of family and friends who are grieving the preventable death of a cherished loved one."

She said the death rate has nearly doubled since the emergency was first declared in 2016. At that time, the death rate was 20.4 per 100,000. Now, it's at 39.7.

In a statement outlining the preliminary findings, Lapointe said the deaths in July bring the total toll so far this year 1,204. It's the highest number of deaths in the first seven months of any year in B.C.