Seven years ago, B.C. declared a public health emergency after overdose deaths reached unprecedented levels.
Since then, over 11,000 British Columbians have lost their lives to illicit toxic drugs.
On Friday, which marked the seven-year anniversary of the emergency being declared, families, loved ones, and advocates gathered across the province calling for rapid government action, including access to safe supply and better mental health services.
With nearly 2,300 British Columbians dying from toxic drugs last year, it remains the leading cause of unnatural death in the province, even ahead of car crashes.
This March, B.C. Emergency Health Services (BCEHS) saw an average of 119.9 overdoses a day, the highest 30-day average on record. Paramedics responded to a total of 205 drug poisoning calls on Mar. 22 alone, setting a new daily record.
Members of advocacy group Moms Stop The Harm (MSTH) gathered at Richmond City Hall Friday on the anniversary. The group placed 2,300 purple markers around the building to commemorate those who died from toxic drugs in 2022.
Debbie Tablotney, a member of Moms Stop the Harm, remembered her son and thousands of others lost to the overdose crisis at a memorial marking seven years since the declaration of the public health emergency.
More mental health support
Andrew Tabloney was among those at the Richmond rally. His son Curtis died from an overdose last September at age 36.
The family struggled to get Curtis mental health support. Tabloney said it took 10 years of actively seeking out mental health resources before his son was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder.
“For so long all the doctors ever told him, ‘It’s always the drugs, it’s always the drugs,’ and he would say, ‘It’s not the drugs dad, I keep hearing voices,'” said Tabloney.
After receiving the diagnosis, Curtis waited another three months to get an appointment with a psychiatrist.
In the final year before he passed away, Curtis suffered from seven overdoses. Tabloney says each time he or his wife would find their son overdosing, they would administer naloxone and call 911.
“My wife had to do it a couple times by herself, call 911, pump his chest, and figure out how to inject the needles at the same time,” the father said.
“Think of all the family members who are pounding on their child’s chest or calling 911 to revive them.”
Tabloney wishes there was more public information and better mental health resources available for his son.
He says while the government is making changes, it is happening at a “glacial” pace.
Crisis ‘now of epidemic proportions’
Members of MSTH also gathered in Victoria to share stories of lost loved ones and advocate for government action.
“This crisis is now of epidemic proportions,” said MSTH advocate Jennifer Howard at the rally. She lost her son to overdose just weeks after the health crisis was declared in 2016.
“We come together on this tragic anniversary date, imploring our premier, our minister of health, and our minister of mental health and addictions to immediately respond to the escalating deaths due to drug poisoning.”
Premier David Eby, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Jennifer Whiteside, and Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry wrote in a joint statement released Friday that they mourn with every B.C. resident who has lost a loved one, family member or friend to the crisis.
“Budget 2023’s historic $1 billion in targeted investments will continue this work and will focus on scaling up detox, treatment and recovery services across the full spectrum of care, so people can find and stay connected to vital supports on their wellness journey,” the statement reads.
A public demonstration from BCEHS on Friday morning showed viewers how to use naloxone.
In B.C., naloxone kits are widely distributed in an effort to save people from a toxic drug overdose. Brian Twaites, a paramedic public information officer with B.C. Emergency Health Services, showed Dan Burritt how to effectively administer naloxone to a patient.
‘4 or 5 times the normal dosing of naloxone’
A former Vancouver paramedic with decades of experience says he has watched as illicit drugs have become more toxic, requiring more effort and more overdose-reversing medication to save people’s lives.
“Now we’re finding we’re doing four or five times the normal dosing of naloxone,” he said.
Brian Twaites worked for 36 years, mostly in the city’s Downtown Eastside, before taking an administrative job with BCEHS.
He says drug users need to stop using alone, and ensure they’re not using the same drug at the same time so someone can call for help.
On one shift as a paramedic, he handled 26 calls and nearly all of them were drug overdoses.
“I think that was a big realization of how hard it hit us.”
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