The BC Coroners Service says preliminary data indicates there were 1,422 suspected drug overdose deaths in 2017.
That’s a 43 per cent increase from 2016, when there were 993 overdose deaths.
Dr. Patricia Daly, executive director and clinical lead for the B.C. Overdose Emergency Response Centre says there is a glimmer of hope…….
198 people died from illicit drug use on Vancouver Island in 2017.
Of those, 79 were in the region the Coroners Service calls the Central Island, that includes the area from Shawnigan Lake up through the Cowichan Valley, Nanaimo, Parksville, Port Alberni and Ucluelet.
43 of those 79 deaths were in Nanaimo.
