More than 11,000 British Columbians have lost their lives to illicit drug overdoses since a public health emergency was declared in 2016.
According to the most recent report from the Coroners’ Service, January saw at least another 211 lives added to that tragic total.
That report saw Northern Health record the third highest rate of deaths among any health authority with 50.9 per 100,000 residents.
In the Northwest, that rate climbs to 61.4 per 100,000, and again to 110.5 per 100,000 in the Terrace Local Health Area.
In total, the province has now seen at least 200 illicit overdose deaths in eight of the past 16 months.
This report will be the last not to reflect a new decriminalization policy introduced by the province on January 31st.
Under that policy, it will no longer be illegal to possess less than 2.5 grams of certain drugs, including opioids, for personal use.
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