A community information session on drug overdoses and fentanyl is being planned for March.
Jordan Davis, harm reduction co-ordinator for the Williams Lake and District Boys and Girls Club, will be teaming up with the Williams Lake RCMP to host the public forum at Lake City Secondary’s Williams Lake campus March 14 starting at 7 p.m.
“We are trying to reach parents who are looking for more information,” Davis said, referring to the current public health crisis surrounding overdoses and how it relates to students and families here.
The number of illicit drug deaths in B.C. decreased slightly in January over the figures for November and December, but was still the third-highest number ever for a single month, according to statistics released by the BC Coroners Service.
Provisional data from the BC Coroners Service show that a total of 116 persons died as a result of illicit drug use during the month of January, an average of more than seven deaths every two days. December 2016 had the highest number of illicit drug deaths ever, 142.
The January data show that almost 60 per cent of the illicit drug deaths involved persons between the ages of 30 and 49 years. Continuing the trend shown in 2016, four out of five who died were male. More than 90 per cent of the deaths occurred in indoor settings with none reported from supervised consumption sites or overdose prevention sites.
Chief coroner Lisa Lapointe warned that the risks of using illicit drugs remain extreme.