NANAIMO — A stunning number of people are losing their lives to illicit toxic drugs in the city.
New data from the B.C. Coroners Service showed 66 people have died in Greater Nanaimo through the first six months of the year, in fatalities directly related to an increasingly toxic drug supply.
It puts the region on pace to nearly double the record number of similar deaths recorded in all of 2022, when 78 people lost their lives.
Nanaimo represents roughly five per cent of all toxic drug deaths in the province through the first half of 2023, despite only having just under two per cent of the population. Greater Vancouver, Surrey and Greater Victoria rank ahead.
Central Vancouver Island, encompassing all communities across the width of the Island from the Malahat to Deep Bay, recorded 106 toxic drug deaths in the same six month period.
Last year’s record for fatalities was 166.
“Illicit fentanyl continues to drive the crisis, which is causing deaths in large and small municipalities, towns and cities across the province,” Lisa Lapointe, chief coroner, said in a statement. “This health emergency is not confined to one neighbourhood or one demographic. Anyone accessing an illicit substance is at risk of serious harm or death.”
Province-wide, 1,228 people have lost their lives from drugs including 184 in June alone. It represents a 17 per cent increase over June 2022 and a two per cent rise from May 2023.
As has been consistent through the toxic drug crisis since the health emergency was declared in April 2016, working aged men make up a vast majority of victims.
Through the year so far, 70 per cent of all victims were between the age of 30 and 59 years old, with 77 per cent being men.
Four of every five fatalities are taking place inside with nearly half in a private residence.
Data on the province’s pilot project to decriminalize certain drugs is due out in the coming weeks.
The plan was met with skepticism by many, including local law enforcement, and more recently was called to end by Delta police chief Cst. Neil Dubord.
In an open letter, Dubord said while he agrees with “the underlying principles of decriminalization,” an early evaluation shows that the policy has not led to “the desired outcome.”
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