Victoria continues to be on the podium in a contest it never wanted to join: Drug-overdose deaths. When the sa国际传媒 Coroners Service this week released death statistics up to the end of October, Victoria had logged 78 deaths from illicit-drug overdoses. That put it third, behind Vancouver with 300 and Surrey with 148. The Island had almost 200 deaths.
With 1,208 deaths across the province between January and the end of October, we are in sad company, because the numbers keep getting worse. The province has already surpassed the 985 deaths last year 鈥� and it was the worst year up to that time.
Fentanyl was detected in 83 per cent of cases, which is why some say 鈥渄rug poisoning鈥� is a better description than 鈥渄rug overdose.鈥�
October saw 96 overdose deaths, up from 76 in the same month last year. Although officials are hopeful because they have seen two months in a row with fewer than 100 deaths, they also know that last year, November and December were the worst months.
While the rest of the continent is seeing the wave that started washing over sa国际传媒 several years ago, no one has come up with definitive solutions. With the impetus of rising death tolls across sa国际传媒 and the U.S., more resources are being thrown into the fight.
Thanks to the province鈥檚 commitment to tackling the problem, the Coroners Service is collecting more information in an effort to find common threads that might suggest ways to bring the crisis under control. The more we know, the better we can fight back.
鈥淔or example, starting last month, the additional data showed a higher rate of illicit-drug-overdose deaths following income-assistance payment days,鈥� said Andy Watson of the sa国际传媒 Coroners Service. 鈥淥ne thing we鈥檙e hoping is that policy-makers look at these numbers for ideas to best reach people.鈥�
The numbers tell us more about who is dying. Ninety-one per cent are between 19 and 59. The vast majority 鈥� 82 per cent 鈥� are men.
Continuing to defy the image of the stereotypical street user, only 12 per cent of the deaths happen in outdoor areas. Private homes are the site of 58 per cent of deaths, with 30 per cent in other inside locations.
Clearly, campaigns that target only people living on the streets will miss most of those who are at risk. People who use alone and in secret are the hardest to reach.
鈥淗ow do you reach this demographic of people who might be ashamed, who don鈥檛 want to be seen accessing [harm-reduction] services?鈥� Watson said.
The death of Christopher Seguin in Victoria is a case in point. Seguin, vice-president of advancement at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, died after overdosing in his hotel room in September.
If the promising young executive, who helped the university set fundraising records almost every year since 2007, could fall to the epidemic, how much harder will it be to reach isolated teenagers?
Since the election, the provincial government has created a Mental Health and Addictions Ministry, which has earmarked $4.37 million to support public awareness and outreach for the next two years.
While many people shrink from the thought of more bureaucracy, the creation of the ministry signals the government鈥檚 recognition of the scale of the often-linked problems of mental health and addictions. It鈥檚 an acknowledgment that we won鈥檛 find solutions unless we give it our full attention.
Early next year, the coroner鈥檚 newly formed drug-investigation team will release its first full report, based on much more detailed information about those who died. No magic wand will emerge, but the insights will be invaluable.
