Drug deaths rise to 18

Illicit drugs have exacted a toll of 18 deaths in Prince George as of the end of March, according to figures released Tuesday by the B.C. Coroners Service.

The count is two higher than over the same period last year with two of the fatalities occurring in March.

B.C.’s chief coroner says illicit toxic drugs still present enormous risks for substance users. Lisa Lapointe says the latest overdose figures show 165 people died in March, down from 174 in February and 209 in January. Still, figures from the coroners service show 548 deaths in the first quarter of the year, surpassing last year’s record, when 535 people died during that time.

Lapointe says five people are dying every day and those who survive an overdose are often left with long-term health challenges so expanded access to a safer supply of alternative drugs would lessen those harms. She says 94 per cent of drug samples tested positive for fentanyl in March, while benzodiazepines, which don’t respond to overdose-reversing medication, are increasingly being used in substances sold on the street.