BC Setting Records for Overdoses, Drug Poisoning

Evidence bags containing fentanyl are displayed during a news conference at Surrey RCMP Headquarters, in Surrey, B.C., on Sept. 3, 2020. (The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck)

British Columbia, which recently decriminalized the possession of small amounts of hard drugs, set a record in March for the most overdose calls in one day.

The province also recorded the highest 30-day average of overdose calls and the most consecutive days where paramedics responded to 100 or more poisoning calls each day in March.

On March 22, paramedics responded to 205 poisoning calls in the province. Also in March, B.C. recorded an average of 119.9 daily overdoses in March, beating a previous 30-day high of 116.2 from July to August 2021.

Between March 15 and April 2, there were at least 100 notifications of poisonings on each of those 19 days, beating a previous record for consecutive days, of 15 poisonings, set in August 2021.

According to 2022 data from B.C. Emergency Health Services (BCEHS), since the province declared a public health emergency due to drug overdoses in 2016, seven years ago, there has been a 75 percent total increase in annual overdose and poisoning calls. On average, paramedics attended more than 2,800 calls for overdose/poisoning per month, with more than 92 calls a day on average.

Paramedics and ambulances outside the Emergency Department of Burnaby Hospital in Burnaby, B.C., on May 30, 2022. (The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck)

Decriminalization

The B.C. government officially decriminalized possession of hard drugs on Jan. 31, under a temporary authorization by Health Canada. This means that adults, referring to individuals over 18, found in possession of less than 2.5 grams of any combination of cocaine, methamphetamine, MDMA, heroin, fentanyl, and/or morphine for personal use would not be arrested or charged and would not have their drugs seized.

Carolyn Bennett, federal minister of mental health and addictions, said at a news conference in Vancouver on Jan. 30 that the province’s “harm reduction” plan will “reduce the stigma, the fear, and shame that keep people who use drugs silent about their use, or using alone.”

The federal minister suggested B.C.’s drug policy was saving lives.

“Supervised consumption sites, which prioritize the dignity and safety of people who use drugs, have saved lives and guided many Canadians towards treatment. We know that access to treatment remains a gap,” said Bennett.

At the same news conference, B.C. Minister of Health Jennifer Whiteside said that “decriminalizing people who use drugs is a critical step in tackling the toxic drug crisis.”

A woman at an outdoor supervised consumption site in the Downtown Eastside neighbourhood of Vancouver on May 27, 2021. (The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck)

Statistics

In 2022, according to the BC Coroners Service, 2,272 people died in the province due to toxic, illegal drugs, which works out to an average of 189 deaths per month, or 6.2 lives lost each day. This is the second-highest total in a calendar year, and just 34 fewer than the 2,306 deaths reported in 2021.

In 2001, there were just 272 drug overdose deaths in B.C., according to the Public Health Agency of Canada.

Last year, paramedics in B.C. responded to 33,654 emergencies involving overdose/poisoning, a reduction of 5 percent from 2021, which saw 35,585 overdose calls, according to BCEHS.

The most calls for overdose/poisoning in 2022 came from the largest cities: Vancouver in top place, followed by Surrey and Victoria, BCEHS stated. Kelowna and Abbotsford took fourth and fifth spot in the top five most calls by health authority region.

Prior to 2016, overdose/poisoning calls in B.C. fluctuated from 10,000 to 15,000 calls per year.

On April 14, 2016, B.C. became the first jurisdiction in Canada to declare a public health emergency due to increasing overdose incidents. Overdose deaths were up 30 percent from the previous year, during which 474 individuals died from drug overdose.

According to BCEHS, in July 2021, paramedics in B.C. responded to the highest number of overdoses ever recorded in a single month: 3,606 overdose calls. There were two months in 2022 with over 3,000 overdose/poisoning calls, and on Jan 19, 2022, a new daily record was set, with 203 calls that day.

Summer 2021 recorded the highest number of overdose calls, with June, July, August, and September each recording over 3,000 overdoses each. The average monthly call volume prior to the pandemic had been about 2,000 overdose calls a month.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.