The BC Coroners Service has reported that a total of 1422 people in British Columbia died in 2017 due to drug overdoses.
This marks a 43 percent increase compared to 2016's overdose death toll of 993, making 2017 BC's worst year yet for deaths of this category.
81 percent of the drug overdose deaths in BC from 2017 are reported to have been fentanyl related, which is up 64 percent from 2016.
For anyone using illicit substances, it is recommended to have someone watching the drug use in order to watch out for any warning signs of an overdose. Unfortunately, with such a strong stigma around drug use, many overdose victims do not take that precaution.
"The data tells us that 90 percent of people dying (from overdoses) are dying alone," says Dr. Patricia Daly, executive director for the B.C. Overdose Emergency Response Centre. "Most are in a private residence, and most are male, in the prime of their lives. We need to develop strategies to address this particular risk group."
Safe injection sites have been set up in cities in BC to monitor drug use, and so far there have been zero deaths from drug use at these facilities.
According to Interior Health, 150 overdose deaths from illicit drugs occurred in the Okanagan in 2017, 128 of which were fentanyl related.
For Kelowna, there were 75 illicit drug overdose deaths last year, 67 of which involved fentanyl.
Very recently, 9 overdose deaths occurred in the Okanagan in less than a week.