B.C.'s toxic drug death rate double what it was when health emergency declared in 2016

Moms Stop the Harm advocates and supporters gather at Centennial Square in Victoria on April 14, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito

The overdose death toll has surpassed 200 for another month in British Columbia.

The BC Coroners Service says 211 people died in January, bringing the number of deaths to at least 11,195 since the public-health emergency was declared in 2016.

A statement from the coroner's office says the death rate in January was 47 people per 100,000, more than double the 20.5 death rate that prompted B.C.'s medical health officer to declare the emergency almost seven years ago.

Chief coroner Lisa Lapointe says in the statement that toxic drugs are an ever-present danger to anyone who uses illicit drugs.

She says recent announcements by the province about increasing treatment and recovery options are encouraging and necessary to address the tragic loss of life.

The service says the latest toll means that an average of 6.8 lives are lost every day, and 80 per cent of those who died were male.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 7, 2023.