VANCOUVER — Overdose deaths in British Columbia linked to illicit drug use continue to climb in 2016, while far more incidents are being linked to the dangerous opioid fentanyl.
While deaths across the province dropped slightly in July compared with previous months, there were 433 deaths recorded between Jan. 1 and July 31, a nearly 75-per-cent increase compared with the same period in 2015.
The total number of overdose deaths in July was 52, down from 61 in June.
Updated statistics show the number of deaths between Jan. 1 and June 30 where fentanyl was detected has leapt to 238, a 250-per-cent increase over the same period last year.
Overdoses that were connected in some way to fentanyl made up 30 per cent of the overall total of illicit drug deaths in all of 2015, while that percentage for the first half of this year has grown to more than 60 per cent.
Last month British Columbia asked the federal government to help it crack down on fentanyl overdoses that have been classified as a public health emergency in the province.
