News From The Drug War Front _Podcast- 23rd May 2023

BC recorded 206 deaths in April from “unregulated” drugs Post from British Columbia, Canada; Over 800 people have died so far in 2023 from what the province is now calling “unregulated” drugs, with 206 deaths recorded in April. More: Preliminary data from the BC Coroners Service shows that communities throughout the province continue to be devastated by deaths due to unregulated drugs, with 814 lives lost in the first four months of 2023. As has been the case throughout the crisis, the illicit drug supply remains highly volatile, challenging people’s best efforts to use safely and challenging life-saving responses. Fentanyl is present in about eight of every 10 deaths, almost always in combination with other substances. April 2023’s reporting also notes an increase in the presence of benzodiazepines, which is largely the result of enhancements to benzodiazepine testing by the Provincial Toxicology Centre. “Illicit fentanyl continues to be the main and most lethal driver of B.C.’s drug-toxicity public-health emergency, having been detected in 86% of deaths in 2022 and 79% of deaths in 2023,” said Lisa Lapointe, chief coroner. “Cocaine, methamphetamines and/or benzodiazapines are also often present. This drug poisoning crisis is the direct result of an unregulated drug market. Members of our communities are dying because non-prescribed, non-pharmaceutical fentanyl is poisoning them on an unprecedented scale.” B.C.’s representative for children and youth, Jennifer Charlesworth, said there is no evidence that diverted safer supply has been a factor in the toxic drug-related injuries and deaths of youth that are reported to her office. “Based on the reports of critical injuries and deaths that my office reviews every month, we have not seen any indication that youth are using from diverted supply,” Charlesworth said. “The injuries and deaths reported to us are as a result of youth accessing the illicit supply and they are typically using an array of substances. Through our advocacy work and in-depth re