B.C.'s coroner has issued an urgent warning to drug users after an unprecedented number of deaths Thursday.
The BC Coroners Service says six people in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside died in an eight-hour span, and another two fatal overdoses in the neighbourhood are potentially drug-related.
Those deaths are in addition to another five in Vancouver, Burnaby, the Fraser Valley and Northern B.C. that are being attributed to illicit drugs.
Chief coroner Lisa Lapointe said although further toxicology testing is needed, they are very concerned about the "distressing spike" in drug overdoses.
The agency is urging people who take drugs to do so in an area where naloxone and medical help are available.
The dire warning was issued just one hour after Vancouver's mayor, police and fire chiefs held a joint press conference to say the city is failing when it comes to helping treat people who suffer from opioid addiction.
The officials are all urging the province to step in and help immediately.
Vancouver Police Chief Const. Adam Palmer Palmer says there have been 160 fentanyl overdose deaths since the end of November, compared to 67 for all of 2015.
Fentanyl users frequently approach VPD officers to ask for help getting into treatment facilities, but there often aren't spaces available, or the wait is more than a week to get in, he says.
Some drug users are being told to go to Vancouver Island if they want to get a bed, he said.
The chief says a longer term strategy is needed to deal with "people in crisis," especially low-barrier drug treatment therapy in the region.
"They are at risk of dying if we don't help them," Palmer said.
Mayor Gregor Robertson said there is an urgent need for more treatment options in the city, and the fentanyl overdose crisis is having a severe impact on front-line responders and the families who are losing loved ones.
"It's desperate times here in Vancouver and it's hard to see any silver linings here," Robertson told reporters at a joint press conference at police headquarters.
The mayor says the solution is doable, but the B.C. government needs to act immediately.
Earlier this week, the City of Vancouver approved a 0.5 per cent increase in property taxes – which amounts to around $3.5-million – to tackle the fentanyl crisis.
A third Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services medic unit has been established in the Downtown Eastside to deal with the unprecedented amount of calls to help people who are overdosing.
Chief John McKearney says the department could see 1,600 calls in the Downtown Eastside alone.
"This is happening in our city, it's the epicenter here," McKearney said.
