More people have overdosed in Vancouver so far this year compared to 2016 total
VANCOUVER — More people have fatally overdosed in Vancouver so far this year compared with the total number of illicit-drug deaths for all of 2016, the city says.
It says 232 overdose deaths have been recorded since the beginning of the year. The BC Coroners Service reported 231 fatalities for Vancouver last year, many involving the opioid painkiller fentanyl.
The numbers suggest more than 400 deaths are anticipated by the end of the year, the city said in a news release Monday.
Mayor Gregor Robertson called the rising number of overdose deaths “horrendous and absolutely heartbreaking” and said the city will work with the new provincial government and pour its resource into tackling the issue.