Kelowna, British Columbia is heading into the worst year of the toxic drug crisis.
BC Coroners OfficeThis year, 38 people died from his B.C. Died from drug supply. The total number of overdose deaths in 2022 was 75.
Worse per capita is the situation in surrounding cities. So far this year there have been 23 drug overdose deaths in Vernon and in Penticton he has had 11 deaths from January to April alone.
READ MORE: More doctors across Canada need to prescribe safer drugs to reduce overdoses
Minister Helen Jennens, who lost two sons to an opioid overdose, has increasingly failed to heed medical professionals who are pushing for regulated and safe supplies I am getting frustrated.
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"If you don't follow expert advice, you'll be pretty disappointed," says Moms Stop the Harm in the face. A Jenens Okanagan said.
``What is the magic number that governments need to see before they can intervene, change drug policy, and provide safe drugs for addicts? There are drug addicts... uh, can we just ignore them and let them die?"
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Statewide, 1,095 people died from illicit drug overdoses between January and June.
"The increasing toxicity of the unregulated illicit drug market is taking a heartbreaking toll on the lives and well-being of members of our communities across the state," said Chief Coroner Lisa. Lapointe said.
"Toxic drug deaths in the first half of 2022 will exceed those experienced during the same period in 2021, and our state is once again facing record loss of life."
More than three-quarters (78%) of the lives lost in 2022 will be men, and a similar proportion (73%) will be between the ages of 30 and 59. This year, on average, more than six lives are lost to illegal drugs every day.
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Read More: Long Line for Treatment
"Six years ago, nearly 1,000 people died in this state in a year from the supply of illegal drugs. Today, the same number." died just half the time," Guy Felicera, a peer clinical advisor at Vancouver Coastal Health, said in a Tuesday release from the BC Coroners Service.
The only thing that has changed is the deterioration of the supply of unregulated medicines," said Felicera. "It's becoming more dangerous and more unpredictable.
"Whether it's safe supply or treatment and recovery, people have to get help when they need it.
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