The number of deaths from illicit drug overdoses last year was as grim as experts feared, but there is hope because the rate dipped near the end of 2017.
Figures released by the sa国际传媒 Coroners Service on Wednesday showed that 1,422 people died of suspected overdoses in 2017. That鈥檚 43 per cent more than in 2016, a staggering increase.
Once again, Victoria had the third-highest number of deaths 鈥� 91 鈥� behind Vancouver with 358 and Surrey with 174. Fentanyl was detected in 81 per cent of cases, an increase from 67 per cent in 2016.
Although it is too early to make predictions, the figures for the end of the year give reason for some hope. In the past four months, an average of 96.5 people died each month, a significant drop from the 129.5 average for the first eight months of the year.
Are strategies such as naloxone kits and supervised injection sites working? The coroner says no one died at a supervised-consumption or overdose-prevention site. Naloxone is being used frequently.
However, nine out of 10 deaths occurred indoors and more than half of deaths happened in private residences, a pattern that has been consistent. Reaching people who use at home or out of sight is still a challenge.
We need innovative thinking in the hunt for solutions to this problem.
Let us hope that somewhere behind the lower numbers from the end of the year, there are lessons we can use to reduce the epidemic of overdoses.
