The Thompson-Cariboo health service delivery area, which includes Williams Lake and 100 Mile House, continues to have the second highest drug toxicity death rate in the province so far this year at 62.3 deaths per 100 thousand people.
The BC Coroners Service says only Vancouver’s is higher through the month of June at 70.6.
The Northern Interior, which Quesnel is part of, is third at 58.1 deaths per 100 thousand.
There were 11 deaths in the Thompson-Cariboo in June, up from 9, and 8 in the Northern Interior, compared to just 3 in May.
Province-wide, more than a thousand people are believed to have died from a suspected drug overdose in the first 6 months of this year.
A Peer Clinical Advisor at the BC Centre on Substance Use, Guy Felicella, says public policy has not changed enough to keep the drug poisoning crisis from escalating.
“Six years ago, nearly 1,000 people in this province died from the illicit drug supply in a single year. Today, the same number of people died in just half the time. The only thing that’s really changed is that the unregulated drug supply has gotten worse. It’s become more dangerous and more unpredictable. Nothing will change if we don’t ensure that people can get the help they need when they need it.”
146 people died from toxic drugs in BC in June, which was down from 175 in June of last year and 197 in May, but still equates to 4.9 people per day.