Overdose deaths still a 'chronic issue' despite report showing dip in numbers

Health-care professionals are gathering in Vancouverhoping to brainstorm solutions to the opioid crisis at the third annual Overdose Action Exchange on Friday, in the wake of the latest survey about overdose deaths.

Between January and April this year, 511 British Columbians died of an illicit drug overdose, the B.C. Coroners Service reported this week.

Although that's a slight decrease from the553 deaths recorded in January-April 2017, the number is still alarmingly high, says Dr. Mark Tyndall, executive director of the B.C. Centre for Disease Control and and B.C.'s deputy provincial health officer, who is involved with the overdose exchange conference.

"Nobody would have predicted a year ago that we'd be looking at these numbers still," he told Stephen Quinn, host of CBC's The Early Edition.

Last year saw a record number of overdose deaths, with 1,449 dying across the province.

"The numbers are staggering," he said. "I think if [the cause] was anything else, we'd be talking about it way more."

Tyndall continues to call for decriminalization and a regulated opioid supply offered from vending machines to help address the crisis.

"This has really become a chronic issue," he said. "It looks like fentanyl is here to stay, it's not just a blip in the drug market,and we really need to address this differently."

'Cautiously optimistic'

Despite the slight decrease in overall drug overdose deaths, officials say it is still too early to confirm any trends.

"We're cautiously optimistic about the numbers that we're seeing," said Andy Watson, manager of strategic communications for the B.C. Coroners Service.

"Obviously we want to see a trend over a number of months before we can say with any certainty if we are seeing a slowdown."

For the first time, Prince George has moved into the top five B.C. cities for illicit drug overdose deaths.

Vancouver, Surrey, Victoria and Kamloops recorded the highest number of deaths in the province.

With files from The Early Edition, On The Coast and Andrew Kurjata