About six British Columbians died every day due to unregulated drugs last month, according to the latest provincial data.
The BC Coroners Service released a summary of toxic drug deaths in the first three months of 2023 on Tuesday, which shows there were 197 in March.
Fentanyl and its analogues have been linked to 89.8 per cent of those deaths, according to BCCS.
Last month, there were 11 per cent more deaths than the 177 recorded in February.
Compared to March 2022, when there were 181 suspected unregulated drug deaths, this March saw the number of overdoses increase by nine per cent.
So far this year, BCCS found nearly half of unregulated drug deaths—47 percent—occurred in private residences.
Only one death has been recorded at an overdose prevention site, according to the summary.
The health authorities with the highest rates of overdose so far this year have been Vancouver, Northwest, North Vancouver Island, Northern Interior and Central Vancouver Island.
Jennifer Whiteside, B.C.’s mental health and addictions minister, says she is committed to “do everything possible to turn the tide and end this public health emergency.”
“In February and March, we lost 374 people to the toxic illicit drug supply. These were friends, family, neighbours and co-workers and I mourn with British Columbians who are grieving their irreplaceable loss,” Whiteside said in a statement Monday.
“Our government won't stop working until we have an integrated system of mental-health and addictions services in place that is available for people wherever and whenever they need it,” she added.
Last week the province marked the seventh year of its public health emergency due to overdose deaths, which was declared on April 14, 2016.
In the years since, B.C. has reported more than 11,000 illicit drug-toxicity deaths.
According to the BC Coroners Service, there is no evidence that prescribed safe supply is contributing to unregulated drug deaths.
With files from CTV News Vancouver