B.C. is on track to surpass 2,000 deaths from the toxic drug crisis for a second year in a row, according to the latest death tolls from the BC Coroners Service.

There were 171 lives lost in September, the service said in an update Monday (Nov. 7), which is equal to almost six people dying each day.

鈥淏oth those who use drugs occasionally and those who are substance-dependent are at risk of sudden death from the unpredictable illicit market,鈥� said Lisa Lapointe, chief coroner, in a statement.

鈥淚ndividuals who have been abstinent for a period of time or those who normally use stimulants are at increased risk. Their opioid tolerance is low and the prevalence of fentanyl in the illicit supply is high.鈥�

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A majority, or 71 per cent, of those who have fatally overdoses were between 30-59 years old. Seventy-nine per cent have been men 鈥� statistics both consistent since illicit drugs started fatally poisoning a staggering number of British Columbians in 2016.

September is the 24th consecutive month in which at least 150 deaths suspected to have been caused by illicit drug toxicity were reported to the BC Coroners Service.

Illicit drug toxicity is the leading cause of unnatural death in British Columbia and is second only to cancers in terms of years of life lost. At least 10,505 British Columbians have been lost to illicit drugs since the public-health emergency into substance-related harms was first declared in April 2016.

More to come.

ashley.wadhwani@blackpress.ca
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