OVERDOSE VICTIMS TRENDING YOUNGER AS DRUG SUPPLY GROWS EVER MORE TOXIC: DEATH Review Panel Finds

By Chandrayee Roy Choudhury, Canada:

A new report by the B.C. Coroners Service examining four years of illicit drug-related deaths says an increasingly toxic supply in the province is leading to increased deaths and that efforts to prohibit illegal drugs are only making the crisis worse.



The report, entitled B.C. Coroners Service Death Review Panel: A Review of Illicit Drug Toxicity Deaths, reviewed 6,007 deaths from illicit drug toxicity between Aug. 1, 2017, and July 31, 2021. It calls on the province to develop a policy to distribute a safer supply of drugs and offer better health supports with a plan that would see action taken within the next 90 days.



"Although a number of provincial initiatives have been undertaken in an attempt to address the drug toxicity crisis, these initiatives have not been sufficient to stop the rising death toll,'' the report said. "A new approach is required, one that includes a specific focus on the toxic drug supply.''