B.C. records 175 overdose deaths in July

British Columbia's chief coroner says 175 people fatally overdosed in July, matching the same total in June as access to harm-reduction services such as a safer supply of drugs remains a challenge.

Lisa Lapointe says a disruption in the typical supply of drugs due to border closures during the pandemic has led to the trafficking of substances with extreme concentrations of illicit fentanyl.

July's death toll represents a 136 per cent increase over the 74 deaths during the same month last year.

B.C. set a monthly overdose record in May, when 171 people died.

Almost 6,000 people have fatally overdosed in the province since 2015 before a provincial health emergency that is still in effect was declared by the province in 2016.

Last week, Canada's chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam called for the decriminalization of small amounts of drugs for personal use to help address the recent increase in fatal overdoses, especially in B.C., Alberta and Ontario.