BC – The Concordian

Drug overdose has out-matched COVID-19 deaths in B.C.

What is happening?

According to the most recent B.C.’s Coroners Service report, there has been a drastic increase in drug overdoses. In September 2020 there were 127 deaths due to overdoses in B.C., which is a 112 per cent increase since 2019. This means that in September roughly 4.2 people died per day because of overdose, according to the report.

For the whole of 2020, the B.C. Coroners Service reports 1,202 people have died due to overdose.

In the context of COVID-19, B.C. has only seen 256 deaths for all of 2020.

So why are drug overdoses hitting harder than the virus?

It seems the main reason for the high number in overdoses is actually because of COVID-19.

According to Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry, only doctors and nurses can prescribe drugs – which includes alternatives to the illicit drugs on the street, giving people suffering from addiction a safer option. Because of COVID-19 medical resources are limited, people struggling with addiction are forced to take unsafe drugs bought off the street, rather than cleaner drugs at a clinic.

Another reason, according to a CBC article, is that the flow of drugs coming into B.C. has slowed because of the border closure. This might seem like a positive thing, but because of the stagnation of higher quality drugs, people are turning to more toxic drugs such as Fentanyl.

What is Fentanyl?

The Canadian Government defines Fentanyl as a “very potent opioid pain reliever. A few grains can be enough to kill you.”

It is 20 to 40 times more potent than heroin and is usually mixed with other drugs to increase the effects.

Because Fentanyl is odourless and tasteless, while there are ways of testing that can be bought in stores or online, the Canadian government warns these tests have limits.

What is being done?

Dr. Henry has issued an order for a temporary expansion to access safer prescription drugs, and has increased the availability of naloxone kits – an opioid overdose-reversing medication.

COVID-19 has put a strain on all social services, impacting vulnerable communities. The way COVID-19 has affected the drug problem in B.C. won’t be fully understood until the pandemic has ended.

Graphic by @sundaeghost

City in Brief

The police watchdog, Quebec’s Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes (BEI), has opened an investigation into a police chase in the city that resulted in a 30-year-old man being seriously injured on Saturday night, reported the CBC. A police officer was approaching a vehicle, which allegedly struck another car, when the suspected driver fled and collided with two other vehicles before crashing into a tree. The BEI did not reveal which of the three collisions the injured man was involved in.

A poll by Le Journal de Montréal found that Mayor Valérie Plante’s approval rate has decreased in the last year. According to the poll, nearly half of Montrealers want a new mayor, especially due to her tax increase.

The Longueuil terminus station was closed Friday afternoon after a suspicious package was spotted, according to the Montreal Gazette. Longueuil police established a security perimeter around the station, and Sûreté du Québec explosive technicians determined it was harmless.

The Longueuil agglomeration will dump 162 litres of raw sewage into the Saint Lawrence River over eight days in mid-November, according to La Presse. This spill will allow the city to repair a water entry pipe that connects to a water treatment plant. Residents in the area are asked to limit their water consumption on these days.

Nation in Brief

British Columbia will now recognize an “X” gender on driver’s licenses, identity cards, birth certificates and BC Services Cards, according to Global News. Those who are born in British Columbia can switch their gender marker to an X by sending the Vital Statistics Agency a Change of Gender Designation Application form with a confirmation form from a physician or psychologist. Once approved, the agency will issue a new birth certificate, which the person will be able to use to request a change on other identification cards.

Catherine Adams from Alberta was sentenced to 90 days in prison on Nov. 2 for abusing her animals, according to the Calgary Sun. Adams is a repeat animal abuser.

New distracted driving penalties came into effect in Manitoba on Nov. 1, meaning drivers caught holding a phone at the wheel can face a $672 fine compared to the previous $203 fine, according to CTV. A second offence, within 10 years of the first, will result in a seven-day suspension of the driver’s license, which the driver will have to immediately surrender. The use of smart watches will result in the same penalties.

Rainy and dark weather conditions in Toronto on Thursday night likely played a role in 16 people getting struck by cars, according to CTV. A 92-year-old woman was injured and taken to the hospital in life-threatening condition. None of the incidents after dark were fatal, although one woman was killed while taking a taxi earlier that day.

World in Brief

A new dinosaur species was discovered by Spanish and Argentinian paleontologists in central Argentina, according to The Guardian. The herbivore species, which lived 110 million years ago, was named Lavocatisaurus agrioensis. Fossils of almost all the bones from three separate dinosaurs were found. One was a 39-feet-long adult and the others appear to be two younger dinosaurs, each about 21-feet-long.

On Wednesday, Peru set a new daily record of 6,708 Venezuelans entering the country, according to Bloomberg. A pull factor for Venezuelans in the past month was the Oct. 31deadline to apply for a work permit. After Colombia, Peru receives the most Venezuelan immigrants, according to the same source. The permit that 250,000 people applied for over the past month would allow them to work legally in Peru, as well as access health services. About 125,000 permits have already been issued since the creation of the permit in January.

The tabled Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, a United Nations migration pact that would make migration safer and more orderly, won’t be signed by Austria, according to The Independent. Austria’s right-wing government, which ran on an anti-immigration platform, is following in the footsteps of the United States and Hungary.

Esambe Hanakita Kojima, a tiny island off the coast of Hokkaido in Japan, disappeared on Sunday, according to The Japan Times. The island, which the Japan Coast Guard registered in 1987, used to be visible from Hokkaido and was 4.6 feet above sea level.

At least 15 people are dead and 44 injured after a truck lost control at a toll station and collided with a line of cars in Lanzhou in North-West China on Saturday, according to the BBC. The truck driver told authorities his brakes did not work and an investigation has been opened.