Drug deaths down a bit in March, but health officials not celebrating

1 month not a trend, notes Interior Health medical health officer

Illicit drug overdose deaths decreased slightly from February to March this year across the Interior Health region, and officials are hoping this translates into a longterm decline.

Across the region, there were 65 drug overdose deaths between January 1 and March 31, 2018, at a rate of 34.4 per 100,000 people, according to the latest report from the BC Coroners Service.

In March alone, there were 22 overdose deaths, down from 24 in February and equal to the number of overdose deaths in March 2017.

Interior Health was the only health authority in B.C. that did not have an increase in the number of overdose deaths from February to March.

Medical health officer Dr. Karin Goodison said that while this sounds positive, it is important not to read too much into the monthly numbers.

“We don’t get too excited about the month-to-month variations, because we do note . . . there’s quite a lot of variability that may depend on things like what drugs are circulating and how toxic that particular batch of drugs is,” she said. “This is one month in a long picture, and what we’re really looking for is an overarching, continuous drop in the rate of deaths. We’re hopeful that some of our ongoing work will help to flatten out this rate overall.”

In the Okanagan, there were 38 overdose deaths in the first three months of the year, 13 of which were in Kelowna.

“I think we should be paying attention to the fact that this is still a really big problem,” said Goodison. “It’s impacting a lot of people. Four people are dying every day in B.C.”

Across B.C., there were 161 illicit drug overdose deaths in March, representing a 24 per cent increase over the March 2017 deaths and a 58 per cent increase over February’s total number of deaths.

This marks the second-highest monthly total to date behind the 162 deaths in December 2016.

In the first three months of 2018, fentanyl was detected in almost 74 per cent of drug overdose deaths in Interior Health.

In the Okanagan, there were 26 fentanyl-related overdose deaths in that time period, and in Kelowna fentanyl was detected in nine overdose deaths.

“People think they’re using cocaine and they’re getting fentanyl; people think they’re using methamphetamine and they’re getting fentanyl; people think they’re using heroin and they’re getting fentanyl,” said Goodison. “It’s very pervasive and it’s very challenging.”

To combat these deaths, community action teams have been created across B.C., including three within Interior Health, to connect people dealing with drug addictions with services and treatment.

“Mental health and substance use are often interlinked,” said Goodison. “People don’t choose to become an addict. It’s a medical condition and it requires treatment. I think we just need to be trying to reach out to people who are in trouble and supporting them to access treatment as they’re ready to do so.”