Nineteen people have died of overdoses in Burnaby in the first half of this year.
The number marks a steep increase over 2019, when 31 people died in the city in the entire year, and could get even worse if recent trends continue. If the city sees another 19 fatal overdoses by the end of the year, that would mean a total of 38, still shy of the 40 to 48 seen annually between 2016 and 2018.
Monthly data from the BC Coroners Service have borne out months-old claims by drug policy advocates that physical distancing would cause a surge in overdose deaths, with more people forced to use alone.
Initially, 2020 had seen levels of fatal overdoses in the province at a similar rate to 2019. But as the pandemic picked up and physical distancing guidelines and rules were brought in, fatal overdoses skyrocketed, with May and June setting successive records for overdose deaths in B.C., both over 170.
Throughout the province, 728 people have died of overdoses this year, with 175 of those in June. That also marks the fourth consecutive month in a row with more than 100 fatal overdoses.
Along with substance users being forced to use alone, the BC Centre for Disease Control notes an increase in cases with “extreme fentanyl concentration,” believed to be the result of disruptions in supply chains.
This month’s data come about a week after an announcement from the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police endorsing decriminalizing simple possession of drugs. The announcement is just the latest in a years-long string of endorsement of decriminalization, including from B.C.’s public health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry.
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