B-C’s chief coroner says January to June saw the highest-ever death toll from illicit drug toxicity in the first six months of a year, with more than 1,000 deaths.
Lisa Lapointe says drug toxicity is now the leading cause of death in B-C for people aged 19 to 39 and overall it remains the leading cause of unnatural death.
The coroner says toxicology testing found “extreme” concentrations of fentanyl and the powerful opioid was involved in 85 per cent of deaths.
Lapointe says the data released on International Overdose Awareness Day shows the need for a wide-scale response to the overdose crisis, including removing barriers to a safe supply of prescription alternatives.
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