B.C. overdoses

Medical personnel wear personal protective equipment to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 as they wheel a patient into St. Paul’s hospital in downtown Vancouver Monday, November 23, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

Refrigerated morgue truck deployed in Fraser Health: BC Coroners Service

B.C. is dealing with two public health crises

 

(File photo)

Vancouver police warn of toxic drug supply after 7 people overdose at one party

Seven people between the ages of 25 to 42 were taken to hospital for further treatment.

 

A fentanyl test strip is used at Vancouver Coastal Health in Vancouver, Tuesday, January, 21, 2020. The test strips will be made available to drug users to ensure that their drugs are safe and free of Fentanyl. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

Drug overdoses lead to 5 deaths each day in October; B.C. drug toxicity continues to increase

COVID-19 crisis continues to exacerbate the overdose crisis

 

Olivia Dalton was found dead in her Langley City apartment by her father, John Butler after he couldn't reach her on the phone. (John Butler photo/Special to the Langley Advance Times)

Local man finds daughter dead in Langley from drug overdose

A father wants society and the justice system to do more to stop drug dealers who are killing people

Olivia Dalton was found dead in her Langley City apartment by her father, John Butler after he couldn't reach her on the phone. (John Butler photo/Special to the Langley Advance Times)
A fentanyl check in progress. One red line on top is a positive result for the presence of fentanyl or one of its analogs. Two red lines is a negative result. (Vancouver Coastal Health/special to the Langley Advance Times)

Toxic drug deaths on the rise in Langley

23 people have died so far this year locally

A fentanyl check in progress. One red line on top is a positive result for the presence of fentanyl or one of its analogs. Two red lines is a negative result. (Vancouver Coastal Health/special to the Langley Advance Times)
FILE – An organizer displays a naloxone kit that people can pick up for free as International Overdose Awareness Day training seminar takes place at Centennial Square in Victoria, B.C., on Saturday August 31, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito

Fatal overdoses continue to spike in B.C. as July sees 175 illicit drug deaths

B.C. hits grim milestone of more than 900 deaths in first seven months of 2020

FILE – An organizer displays a naloxone kit that people can pick up for free as International Overdose Awareness Day training seminar takes place at Centennial Square in Victoria, B.C., on Saturday August 31, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito
‘He needs to be home’: B.C. man buried in an unmarked grave without his family’s consent

‘He needs to be home’: B.C. man buried in an unmarked grave without his family’s consent

Tyler Whaley’s family weren’t notified after he died of an overdose in July

‘He needs to be home’: B.C. man buried in an unmarked grave without his family’s consent
Community action table initiates overdose response card project to save Langley lives

Community action table initiates overdose response card project to save Langley lives

City and Township first responders will distribute resources to help people suffering from addiction

Community action table initiates overdose response card project to save Langley lives
Needles are seen on the ground in Oppenheimer park in Vancouver’s downtown eastside on March 17, 2020. Indigenous and civil liberties groups say the British Columbia government failed to consult them before proposing legislation that would force youth under 19 to stay in hospital after an overdose. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

Proposed B.C. legislation to detain youth who overdose could harm them: doctor

Minister Judy Darcy has said the proposed changes could help ensure the immediate safety of young people

Needles are seen on the ground in Oppenheimer park in Vancouver’s downtown eastside on March 17, 2020. Indigenous and civil liberties groups say the British Columbia government failed to consult them before proposing legislation that would force youth under 19 to stay in hospital after an overdose. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
Premier John Horgan (The Canadian Press)

B.C. premier asks Trudeau to decriminalize illicit drug possession as deaths climb

A record 175 people died in June of illicit-drug overdoses

Premier John Horgan (The Canadian Press)
On June 26, B.C. paramedics responded to the most number of overdoses ever recorded on a single day. (BC Emergency Health Services/Twitter)

B.C. paramedics respond to largest number of overdoses in a single day

131 overdoses recorded by BC Emergency Health Services on June 26

On June 26, B.C. paramedics responded to the most number of overdoses ever recorded on a single day. (BC Emergency Health Services/Twitter)
Elliot Eurchuk in an undated family photo. (The Canadian Press)

Mom of teen who fatally overdosed says B.C. needs treatment beds, not just involuntary holds

Rachel Staples’s 15-year-old son Elliot Eurchuk died in April 2018

Elliot Eurchuk in an undated family photo. (The Canadian Press)
The Lifeguard app is designed to help people using illicit drugs get help if they overdose. (Black Press Media files)

‘Lifeguard’ app launches as a made-in-B.C. solution to help prevent overdose deaths

B.C. recorded record-breaking number of fatal overdoses in May

The Lifeguard app is designed to help people using illicit drugs get help if they overdose. (Black Press Media files)
Michael Stone, a renowned teacher of yoga and Buddhism, died in 2017 of fentanyl poisoning. (Change.org)

Wife of yogi who overdosed asks B.C.’s top doc to announce drug deaths like COVID fatalities

Carina Stone lost her husband Michael in 2017 to fentanyl poisoning

Michael Stone, a renowned teacher of yoga and Buddhism, died in 2017 of fentanyl poisoning. (Change.org)
Naloxone kits are used to try to save the lives of people who have suffered opioid overdoses. (Langley Advance Times files)

Langley sees spike in drug overdose deaths

Drug toxicity deaths are climbing sharply in B.C. again

Naloxone kits are used to try to save the lives of people who have suffered opioid overdoses. (Langley Advance Times files)
BC Centre for Disease Control naloxone kit (Darryl Dick/The Canadian Press)

Illicit-drug deaths up in B.C. and remain highest in Canada: chief coroner

More than 4,700 people have died of overdoses since B.C. declared a public health emergency in early 2016

BC Centre for Disease Control naloxone kit (Darryl Dick/The Canadian Press)
Harm reduction cutting Langley drug deaths, say social workers

Harm reduction cutting Langley drug deaths, say social workers

Naloxone and drug testing kits are more widely available

Harm reduction cutting Langley drug deaths, say social workers
Norman Ayles, right, learned how to give a Naloxone injection to someone suffering from an opioid overdose, from Lookout Housing and Health Society staffer Levi Epp, left, at a 2019 overdose prevention event in Langley City. (Langley Advance Times files)

Drug deaths drop by half in Langley

The total number of lethal overdoses remains higher than before the crisis began

Norman Ayles, right, learned how to give a Naloxone injection to someone suffering from an opioid overdose, from Lookout Housing and Health Society staffer Levi Epp, left, at a 2019 overdose prevention event in Langley City. (Langley Advance Times files)
Corey Ranger holds up his naloxone kit, something he always carries around. Having the product and training on hand has helped him save three lives since moving to Victoria in April. (File Contributed/ Corey Ranger)

Victoria nurse urges compassion after being confronted while saving overdose victim

RN has saved three people’s lives in eight months

Corey Ranger holds up his naloxone kit, something he always carries around. Having the product and training on hand has helped him save three lives since moving to Victoria in April. (File Contributed/ Corey Ranger)
Norman Ayles, right, learned how to give a Naloxone injection to someone suffering from an opioid overdose, from Lookout Housing and Health Society staffer Levi Epp, left. (Matthew Claxton/Langley Advance Times)

Saving lives focus of Overdose Awareness barbecue in Langley

The second annual event drew experts, politicians, and locals

Norman Ayles, right, learned how to give a Naloxone injection to someone suffering from an opioid overdose, from Lookout Housing and Health Society staffer Levi Epp, left. (Matthew Claxton/Langley Advance Times)