The B.C. Coroners Service reports 2,224 deaths due to a toxic drug supply last year, making 2021 the worst year on record.
Regionally and locally, record numbers of toxic drug deaths are also being reported.
In Cranbrook, 16 deaths were identified, an increase from 10 in 2020. Regionally, East Kootenay reported 22 deaths, an increase from 18 in 2020.
Also in the East Kootenays, two deaths due to drug toxicity were reported in both Creston and Kimberley, while Golden reported a single death.
While deaths are at record numbers, so too are overdose response calls to paramedics. BC Emergency Health Services recently reported 191 overdose response calls in Cranbrook, an increase from 104 in 2020.
Dr. Bonnie Henry, the Provincial Health Officer, and Sheila Malcolmson, the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, issued a joint statement following the report’s release, noting the number of deaths identified were “beyond devastating.”
“The number of people who died from the toxic drug supply last year is unacceptable and we must do more to prevent this tragic loss of life,” reads the statement. “While the Province is adding new services and supports to our health-care system each week, B.C. faces a rising tide of need.”
The statement noted that the province is petitioning Health Canada to allow for decriminalization of people who use drugs, while also touting the expansion of a program that enables health care providers to prescribe a safe drug supply.
Beyond the East Kootenay, Interior Health also reported a record number of toxic drug deaths at 371, an increase from 288 in 2020. Kamloops and Kelowna both reported the highest number of deaths within Interior Health, at 77 and 73, respectively.
Vancouver had the highest number of deaths due to drug toxicity, with 524 last year.
Provincially, fentanyl was detected in approximately 83 per cent of deaths in 2021. Based on a review of cases between 2018-21, the top four detected drugs associated with drug poisoning deaths include fentanyl (87 per cent), cocaine (48 per cent), methamphetamine/amphetamine (40 per cent) and others (29 per cent).
B.C. declared a public health emergency in response to the toxic drug crisis in 2016. Since that declaration, over 9,000 people have died due to drug toxicity.
In Cranbrook, drug checking services are located at ANKORS — 16th Ave. N. and as well as East Kootenay Addictions Services Society. Also, naloxone kits are available at both locations, as well as the Ktunaxa Nation Health Clinic, Interior Health Public Health and Mental Health Substance Use at the East Kootenay Regional Hospital, and local pharmacies.