Langley saw more deaths from toxic drugs and overdoses in 2021 than in any previous year, according to grim statistics released by the BC Coroners Service on Wednesday, Feb. 9.
Langley saw 56 deaths in 2021 from illict drug toxicity, more than one death per week.
That was a significant increase in deaths from last year’s total of 38, which was the previous record for number of illicit drug deaths.
A decade ago, Langley was seeing about 10 deaths per year from drug overdoses and toxic supply. That shot up starting in 2016, as fentanyl and carfentanil – powerful opioids – began to be added to the supply of street drugs.
Across B.C., 2,224 people died in 2021 from the overdose crisis, with a notable spike coming in the last two months of the year.
“This public health emergency has impacted families and communities across the province and shows no sign of abating,” said B.C.’s chief coroner, Lisa Lapointe. “In 2021 alone, more than 2,200 families experienced the devastating loss of a loved one. In the past seven years, the rate of death due to illicit drug toxicity in our province has risen more than 400 per cent.”
She said drug toxicity is now second only to cancer in B.C. for potential years of life lost.
Fentanyl was found in 83 per cent of drug samples tested last year. Additionally, 50 per cent tested positive for etizolam, more than three times the rate seen in July 2020. That is an added danger, as etizolam, a benzodiazepine, does not respond to naloxone.
Naloxone is a drug that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, and potentially save a life if it is administered in time. Naloxone kits have been given out to drug users, social service agencies, and frontline emergency service workers for the past several years.
READ MORE: 6 people died per day from B.C.’s toxic drug supply last year
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