A health crisis is unfolding in British Columbia and a lot of politicians are very concerned.
Coroner’s office statistics released Wednesday show 371 drug overdoses in the first sixth months of this year.That’s an increase of 74 per cent over the same period in 2015.
Officials cite the increased use of fentanyl as the key culprit for the increase.
Fentanyl, a synthetic opiod analgesic, was detected in about 60 per cent of the deaths, either on its own or with another drug.
That’s a rise of 31 per cent since 2015.
Fentanyl is being smuggled in from Mexico and China and is estimated to have 50 times the potency of pure, pharmacy-grade heroin and 100 times the potency of morphine.
Drug investigators say Mexican cartels have added fentanyl to heroin smuggled into the United States and Canada while Chinese suppliers are providing both raw fentanyl and the machinery necessary for the assembly-line production of the drug, powering the rapid rise of its use.
The fatal overdoses have been spread across the province with the Fraser Valley registering the highest count with 114 deaths so far this year.
In the southern Interior and on Vancouver Island, the death toll has already exceeded all of last year.
British Columbia declared a public health emergency in April when overdose deaths surged.
One of those fighting to find solutions is Kerry Jang, a Vancouver city councillor.
He spoke with RCI on Thursday from his office in Vancouver.
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