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An injection site coordinator with an overdose naloxone kit in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside in 2018. (John Lehmann/for The Washington Post)

MundoAmérica, ,

As expected, 2020 was recently revealed to have been British Columbia’s worst-ever year for fatal drug overdoses, with 1,716 deaths — the third time in four years that the death count has exceeded 1,000. Drug fatalities are now the highest cause of “unnatural deaths” in the province, killing more British Columbians than murders, suicides and car accidents combined. B.C. has the highest rate of opioid toxicity deaths in Canada, and while differences in U.S. and Canadian data prevent an apples-to-apples comparison, a rate of 33.4 overdose deaths per 100,000 people would appear to make B.C. one of the most drug-ravaged jurisdictions on the continent — with no sign of slowing down.…  Seguir leyendo »

Pop-up injection site co-ordinator Sarah Blyth with an overdose naloxone kit in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside in January 2018. (JOHN LEHMANN/For The Washington Post)

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In July, the Canadian province of British Columbia experienced its fifth straight month with more than 100 overdose deaths — and its third above 170 lives lost.

Globally, the World Health Organization reports approximately 500,000 deaths from drugs, over 70 percent of them tied to opioids. In Canada, from January 2016 through December 2019, more than 15,000 people died from apparent opioid-related causes. In 2019 alone, there were over 21,000 “suspected opioid-related overdoses” across nine provinces and territories, excluding Quebec (for which data wasn’t provided). The opioid crisis clearly persists at home and abroad.

The covid-19 pandemic has further complicated existing challenges, including ensuring users have access to a safe supply, stigma-free communities and treatment programs, should they wish to access them.…  Seguir leyendo »

A written message is seen attached to a pair of shoes as part of a memorial for drug overdose victims in Vancouver on Aug. 31. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press, via AP)

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This week, the Canadian province of British Columbia announced it would be tightening its covid-19 restrictions in response to a modest increase in deaths and infections. B.C.’s covid-19 numbers are among the lowest on earth, but health officials say an abundance of caution is still justified. The province’s nightclubs and banquet halls will close, while bars must shut down by 10 p.m. and quiet their music to limit spittle.

Such bossy demands, while hardly North America’s most draconian, stand in sharp contrast to the province’s generally passive approach to what is numerically a far more serious health crisis. May, June and July have been the worst months in B.C.…  Seguir leyendo »