In 2016, the provincial health officer of BC declared a public health emergency due to the sharp increase in opioid overdoses, and deaths related to these overdoses.
The number of paramedic-attend overdose events has been increasing since that public health emergency was declared.
The number of people dying from opioid overdoses was slowly decreasing, while the number of overdoses reserved due to naloxone was increasing over the last several years, but that has changed since the start of the COVID-19 state of emergency.
Since the start of the COVID-19 emergency, the rate of opioid overdoses has rapidly increased to the highest level since the opioid public health emergency was declared in 2016.
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| Illicit drug overdose deaths in BC. Select chart to enlarge. Source: BC CDC. |
The people who have been impacted the most are young men between the ages of 19 and 39. The majority of overdose deaths occur at home.
Some people may think that this crisis is a Vancouver issue, but the South of Fraser is an epicentre for deaths related to opioid overdoses.
Daniel Snyder & Arianna Wingfield, who are part of the Langley-based We all play a R.O.L.E., have released a series of videos about the ongoing overdose crisis in our province.
The following video is titled, “The Overdose Crisis, fentanyl & the toxic drug supply.”
More information about We all play a R.O.L.E. can been found on their Facebook page, including about the education services that they provide as well as how to get free overdose training.
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