overdose crisis

People hold banners during a march to remember those who died during the overdose crisis and to call for a safe supply of illicit drugs on International Overdose Awareness Day, in Vancouver, on Tuesday, August 31, 2021. British Columbia’s chief coroner says at least 1,011 people died from suspected illicit drug overdoses from January to June, the highest death toll recorded in the first six months of a calendar year during the province’s overdose crisis. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

‘NDP government continues to fail’: Surrey MLA calls for action to toxic drug crisis

Trevor Halford says the toxic drug overdose crisis needs immediate government action

 

Kathleen Radu, Moms Stop the Harm member, with her late son Morgan Goodridge, who died from carfentanyl poisoning in 2020. (Courtesy of Kathleen Radu)

‘A pit in our stomach’: B.C. moms say threshold of decriminalized drug possession too little

Moms Stop the Harm said all personal use possession needs to be decriminalized

 

Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users president Lorna Bird says her dog Joy can tell when someone is overdosing. (Jane Skrypnek/News Staff)

Overdose detecting dogs save lives, lift spirits in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside

When someone overdoses at VANDU, pups Guess and Joy are quick to alert the nearest human

 

Moms Stop the Harm advocates and supporters gather at Centennial Square on the sixth anniversary to mark the public health emergency of the declaration due to the significant increase in opioid-related overdose across the province during the Cut The Red Tape theme in Victoria, Thursday, April 14, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito

Pandemic impacted quality of illicit drugs and ‘contaminants’ in B.C., new study shows

A new study surveyed 738 people who use drugs and found 272 people reported worsening drug quality

Moms Stop the Harm advocates and supporters gather at Centennial Square on the sixth anniversary to mark the public health emergency of the declaration due to the significant increase in opioid-related overdose across the province during the Cut The Red Tape theme in Victoria, Thursday, April 14, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito
Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Sheila Malcolmson speaks during a press conference in the press gallery at the Legislature in Victoria, Monday, Nov. 1, 2021. In the absence of a national policy on personal drug possession, some Canadian jurisdictions have submitted requests for exemptions from criminal penalties for those who carry small amounts of illicit drugs for personal use. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito

Jurisdictions looking to decriminalize small amounts of drugs to curb overdose deaths

Canadian cities, provinces say decriminalization would help reduce stigma associated with drug use

Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Sheila Malcolmson speaks during a press conference in the press gallery at the Legislature in Victoria, Monday, Nov. 1, 2021. In the absence of a national policy on personal drug possession, some Canadian jurisdictions have submitted requests for exemptions from criminal penalties for those who carry small amounts of illicit drugs for personal use. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito
People hold banners during a march to remember those who died during the overdose crisis and to call for a safe supply of illicit drugs on International Overdose Awareness Day, in Vancouver, on Tuesday, August 31, 2021. British Columbia’s chief coroner says at least 1,011 people died from suspected illicit drug overdoses from January to June, the highest death toll recorded in the first six months of a calendar year during the province’s overdose crisis. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Safe-supply pilot project findings promising, but advocates say more action is needed

The programs are small and have very limited capacity to prescribe a safe supply of drugs

People hold banners during a march to remember those who died during the overdose crisis and to call for a safe supply of illicit drugs on International Overdose Awareness Day, in Vancouver, on Tuesday, August 31, 2021. British Columbia’s chief coroner says at least 1,011 people died from suspected illicit drug overdoses from January to June, the highest death toll recorded in the first six months of a calendar year during the province’s overdose crisis. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
A handheld device showing the loading screen for the Alberta Digital Overdose Response System mobile application is shown alongside a pair of Narcan nasal injectors in a photo illustration in Toronto, Monday, Dec. 6, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Giordano Ciampini

‘Maddening, heartbreaking’: Alberta records deadliest year for drug overdoses in 2021

Most fatal overdoses are linked to opioids and took place in Calgary and Edmonton

A handheld device showing the loading screen for the Alberta Digital Overdose Response System mobile application is shown alongside a pair of Narcan nasal injectors in a photo illustration in Toronto, Monday, Dec. 6, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Giordano Ciampini
Ray Corbiere holds a picture of his son Joshua Corbiere in Edmonton on Wednesday, March 16, 2022. A father’s hope turned to pain in less than 24 hours after his son entered a residential drug treatment facility and fatally overdosed. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

‘Death trap’: Front-line workers warn of drug overdoses rising on and off the streets

Drug overdose deaths in Alberta hit record highs during the COVID-19 pandemic

Ray Corbiere holds a picture of his son Joshua Corbiere in Edmonton on Wednesday, March 16, 2022. A father’s hope turned to pain in less than 24 hours after his son entered a residential drug treatment facility and fatally overdosed. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health Carolyn Bennett at a news conference after the federal cabinet was sworn in, in Ottawa, on Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

Scrap thresholds in requests to decriminalize simple drug possession: coalition

To date, British Columbia, Toronto and Vancouver have asked Ottawa for section 56 exemption request

Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health Carolyn Bennett at a news conference after the federal cabinet was sworn in, in Ottawa, on Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
Paramedics respond to a drug-related call at the Abbotsford Community Hub on Feb. 9, during an event to highlight the increasing number of overdoses in the area. (Jessica Peters/ Abbotsford News)

Fraser Health issues alert in Surrey and Abbotsford as overdoses spike

Health agency lists tips for safer consumption as increase continues

Paramedics respond to a drug-related call at the Abbotsford Community Hub on Feb. 9, during an event to highlight the increasing number of overdoses in the area. (Jessica Peters/ Abbotsford News)
Dwayne and Michelle Thornhill remember their son, Aysa, at the Chilliwack rally at Five Corners, Feb. 10, 2022. (Jennifer Feinberg/ The Chilliwack Progress)

VIDEO: Chilliwack rally focused on skyrocketing deaths from fentanyl poisoning

Tanis Oldenburger of Chilliwack Overdose Prevention Society called numbers ‘atrocious, preventable’

Dwayne and Michelle Thornhill remember their son, Aysa, at the Chilliwack rally at Five Corners, Feb. 10, 2022. (Jennifer Feinberg/ The Chilliwack Progress)
People hold banners during a march to remember those who died during the overdose crisis and to call for a safe supply of illicit drugs on International Overdose Awareness Day, in Vancouver, on Tuesday, August 31, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

6 people died per day from B.C.’s toxic drug supply last year

B.C. recorded 2,224 fatalities due to illicit drug overdoses in 2021

People hold banners during a march to remember those who died during the overdose crisis and to call for a safe supply of illicit drugs on International Overdose Awareness Day, in Vancouver, on Tuesday, August 31, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Tools of the trade: Crushed painkiller pills with open bottle, aluminum foil, spoon, lighter and syringe. ADOBE STOCK IMAGE

SCARED STRAIGHT: Overdose episode turns B.C. man’s life around

‘Usually, you just go to sleep… wake up later and you’re fine. But this night I wasn’t.’

Tools of the trade: Crushed painkiller pills with open bottle, aluminum foil, spoon, lighter and syringe. ADOBE STOCK IMAGE
Oona Krieg, chief operating officer of Brave Technology Co-op, poses for a photograph in Vancouver on Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022. Almost three dozen people survived overdoses because of a Canada-wide phone line that connects callers who use drugs with emergency support if there is a suspected overdose. Looking back on a year in service, data from the National Overdose Response Service, or NORS, shows all 33 potentially life-threatening events were successfully responded to. Followup calls confirmed all overdoses were reversed. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Connection during isolation: Data shows national drug overdose hotline saves lives

The national line is one of many solutions to try to curb drug overdoses

Oona Krieg, chief operating officer of Brave Technology Co-op, poses for a photograph in Vancouver on Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022. Almost three dozen people survived overdoses because of a Canada-wide phone line that connects callers who use drugs with emergency support if there is a suspected overdose. Looking back on a year in service, data from the National Overdose Response Service, or NORS, shows all 33 potentially life-threatening events were successfully responded to. Followup calls confirmed all overdoses were reversed. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
A woman walks past a person using a glass pipe to smoke drugs in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, on International Overdose Awareness Day on Tuesday, August 31, 2021. Researchers in British Columbia say the expansion of overdose prevention sites in Vancouver led to immediate behaviour changes among some drug users as they entered addiction treatment, decreased the number of times they injected substances in public and shared syringes. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

UBC study says more overdose prevention sites could mean fewer overdose deaths

Researchers says existing sites having positive influence on drug users’ behaviour

A woman walks past a person using a glass pipe to smoke drugs in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, on International Overdose Awareness Day on Tuesday, August 31, 2021. Researchers in British Columbia say the expansion of overdose prevention sites in Vancouver led to immediate behaviour changes among some drug users as they entered addiction treatment, decreased the number of times they injected substances in public and shared syringes. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
The Yukon provincial flag flies on a flag pole in Ottawa, Monday July 6, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Yukon’s illicit overdose death toll now highest in Canada: coroner

Opioid fatalities now represent over 20 per cent of all deaths investigated by Yukon’s coroner

The Yukon provincial flag flies on a flag pole in Ottawa, Monday July 6, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
Fiona Doerksen of Chilliwack performed CPR on a man suffering an overdose in Abbotsford on Oct. 8. She is now urging others to carry naloxone kits, which reverse the effects of an overdose.

Teen promotes Narcan kits after seeing near-fatal overdose in Abbotsford

Fiona Doerksen performed CPR outside dollar store on Oct. 8

Fiona Doerksen of Chilliwack performed CPR on a man suffering an overdose in Abbotsford on Oct. 8. She is now urging others to carry naloxone kits, which reverse the effects of an overdose.
Demonstrators at the legislature April 14 called on the province to decriminalize drug possession and provide widespread access to regulated safe supply across B.C. (Jake Romphf/News Staff)

Groups offer more support for Canadian families of drug users who have fatally overdosed

The pandemic has disrupted the usual flow of illicit drugs and more toxic fentanyl-laced substances took their place

Demonstrators at the legislature April 14 called on the province to decriminalize drug possession and provide widespread access to regulated safe supply across B.C. (Jake Romphf/News Staff)
Vancouver Police Const. Deepak Sood is under review by the Independent Investigations Office of B.C. after making comments to a harm reduction advocate Sunday, April 11. (Screen grab)

VIDEO: Vancouver officer convicted of uttering threats under watchdog review again

Const. Deepak Sood was recorded Sunday saying ‘I’ll smack you’ and ‘go back to selling drugs’ to a harm reduction advocate

Vancouver Police Const. Deepak Sood is under review by the Independent Investigations Office of B.C. after making comments to a harm reduction advocate Sunday, April 11. (Screen grab)
FILE – People hold signs during a memorial march to remember victims of overdose deaths in Vancouver on Saturday, August 15, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

B.C. to request federal exemption for simple drug possession

Announcement comes on 5-year anniversary of B.C.’s first public health emergency

FILE – People hold signs during a memorial march to remember victims of overdose deaths in Vancouver on Saturday, August 15, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck