Pubdate: Thu, 18 Jan 2018
Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC)
Copyright: 2018 Postmedia Network Inc.
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/477
Author: Scott Brown
Page: A4

FATAL OVERDOSES IN 2017 AVERAGED NEARLY ONE A DAY, VANCOUVER FIRE CHIEF SAYS

The city of Vancouver lost nearly one person a day to an illicit drug
overdoses in 2017.

The city says there were an estimated 335 overdose deaths last year,
compared with 234 the year before - a 43 per cent jump. Vancouver fire
Chief Darrell Reid, who presented the figures to Vancouver city
council on Wednesday, said first responders answered 6,234 overdose
calls in 2017, compared with 4,709 in 2016.

Toxicology reports on the most recent deaths are not yet complete and
final overdose death numbers need to be confirmed by the B.C. Coroners
Service.

The coroners service says there were 300 illicit drug overdose deaths
in Vancouver between January and October 2017. The opioid crisis
claimed a total of 1,208 lives in B.C. during the same period with the
synthetic opioid fentanyl being involved in 999 of those deaths.

"Last year saw an unprecedented overdose death toll in Vancouver,"
Mayor Gregor Robertson said. "The magnitude of tragic deaths due to
the opioid crisis is horrific and is putting an unbearable strain on
our emergency responders, front-line workers and community volunteers,
who are working around the clock to save lives."

Robertson noted positive trends did emerge in the second half of 2017
with a significant drop in the number of deaths from earlier in the
year.

"The City of Vancouver has been pouring in resources and has
established itself as a national leader with its municipal overdose
response, and we appreciate that the new B.C. government has taken
significant steps to address this crisis. While the number of deaths
is far too high, we are seeing some positive trends emerge with a
significant drop in the second half of the year compared to the
first," he said. "We will continue to tackle the opioid epidemic
head-on, and hope that all three levels of government can turn the
tide and end these preventable deaths."
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MAP posted-by: Matt