A record number of people died due to toxic drugs in 2022 throughout the central Island and Nanaimo areas, than ever before. (Dreamstime)

By Alex Rawnsley

more than ever

Most fatal year ever: Nanaimo area shatters record for drug toxicity deaths

Jan 31, 2023 | 10:51 AM

NANAIMO — More people lost their lives to an increasingly toxic drug supply in the region than any single year in history.

Data from the BC Coroners Service showed 74 people died in Nanaimo from illicit drug toxicity in 2022, comfortably eclipsing the old mark of 56 set back in 2017 and the 54 fatalities recorded in 2021.

Challenges with drug toxicity weren’t solely a Nanaimo issue, with 159 people losing their lives across the central Vancouver Island region, an increase of over 21 per cent from the record set last year.

“These numbers represent people, people who were loved, who were valued and who are now greatly missed,” Lisa Lapointe, B.C.’s chief coroner, said Tuesday, Jan. 31. “Some had been experiencing problemtatic substance use for a number of years, others used substances occasionally.”

Lapointe added the supply of toxic drugs in B.C. continues to vary and be incredibly unpredictable.

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“Some sought opioids, others believed they’d purchased stimulants and died unaware what they’d purchased on the illicit market contained fentanyl. These deaths were preventable and these lives mattered.”

Drug deaths across the central Island region have climbed steadily since the public health emergency was declared in April 2016.

Roughly three times as many people died in 2022 than in 2016 on the central Island, which encompasses communities coast to coast from the Malahat to Bowser.

BC Coroners Service data shows a steady increase in the number of lives lost to toxic drugs in Nanaimo and the central Vancouver Island region over recent years. (NanaimoNewsNOW illustration)

Provincially, 2,272 people lost their lives in 2022 which represented a 1.5 per cent decrease in related fatalities compared to 2021’s record year of 2,306 fatalities.

Vancouver, Surrey and the greater Victoria area paced provincial numbers by recording the highest number of drug toxicity-related deaths.

Health authorities in the Lower Mainland were the hardest hit, while Northern Health experienced the highest rate of death per 100,000 people.

Eighty-four per cent of all drug toxicity deaths province-wide occurred inside, including just over half in private homes.

Another 29 per cent occurred in supportive housing environments.

The remaining 15 per cent of toxic drug fatalities in the province happened outside, including in vehicles, parks or streets.

“Provincially, drug toxicity remains the leading cause of unnatural death in B.C., significantly surpassing the total of deaths due to motor vehicle incidents, self harm and homicide combined,” Lapointe said.

A variety of additives and substances are continuing to change the landscape for healthcare workers and first responders.

The BC Coroners Service noted between July 202 and August 2022, etizolam, a benzodiazepine analogue and sedative, was found in 35 per cent of all drug-related fatalities.

The substance does not respond to naloxone, and reduces life-saving options for emergency first responders on scene.

Fentanyl and its analogues remain the dominant substance detected, found in nearly 86 per cent of all drug toxicity deaths.

Cocaine (44.5 per cent), meth (42 per cent) and ethyl alcohol (26 per cent) were also consistently detected.

During Tuesday’s update regarding the public health emergency, Lapointe said roughly 73,000 people in B.C. would qualify for a diagnosis of opioid use disorder as a result of their substance use.

“The prevalence of those using substances continues to grow, and those at direct risk of dying from the toxic, (unregulated) drug supply run the gamut from people who use substances occasionally…to those with severe substance use disorder. “

Steps are being taken locally in a bid to curb overdose-related fatalities.

The Nanaimo Area Network of Drug Users (NANDU) opened a provincially-funded site on Nicol St. in 2022 to provide a supervised area for people to use their drugs.

Neighbours remain concerned the site’s clients are then creating havoc in the surrounding area after consuming their substances.

City of Nanaimo councillors declared it a nuisance property in early January, in response to community concerns.

A new overdose prevention site is on Albert St. serves inhalation and injection drug users, while a growing number of Island Health staffed supports will complement the space in the coming months.

On Tuesday, Jan. 31, a new drug decriminalization strategy took effect in B.C., which sees penalties removed for possession under 2.5 grams or less of certain hard drugs.

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