Tag Archives: Drug Overdoses

Health

110 purple flags will fly along Tri-Cities routes on Friday to mark 7th anniversary of B.C.’s toxic drug emergency

By Patrick Penner, Tri-Cities Dispatch, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

On Friday April 14, commuters travelling along the Tri-Cities’ arterial routes counted 110 purple flags – one flag for every 100 people killed by toxic drugs since a public health crisis was announced.

Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody all granted the TriCities Overdose Community Action Team (TCCAT) a highway use permit to display the public art message meant to lessen the stigma around opioid addiction. 

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Health

‘Walk With Me’ returns to Campbell River

‘Walk With Me’ returns to Campbell River on Wednesday, November 16, 2022. Participants will sit in a circle, while the organizers describe the project and explain the context of the stories they are about to hear. They will then proceed to the walk, listening to a 40-minute-long audio on a headset. (There are static options for people with mobility issues.) After the walk is over, everyone will return to Spirit Square and reflect upon what they heard. 

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Justice

More Chaos, Less Patience – qathet has a serious crime problem

Originally published on qathet Living

By Isabelle Southcott

More than most, Debbie Dee’s words hold weight on issues affecting marginalized locals. So when she stood at the lectern at the Evergreen Theatre on September 14, the 200-plus people who had come to discuss solutions to the escalating crime issue listened intently. Debbie has been executive director of the Powell River Brain Injury Society since 2003. She was a Powell River city councillor from 2008 to 2014. In her speech at the meeting, she revealed that last year, she lost her step-son, Bodie, to a fentanyl overdose. 

Debbie was very clear: Powell River’s support system for struggling people isn’t working. It’s not working for people with addictions, mental health challenges and sometimes brain injuries. It’s not working for the wider community, who have to live with theft, vandalism, and fear. 

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Health

Toxic Drug Toll Continues Deadly Climb

By Moira Wyton, The Tyee, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

British Columbia’s toxic drug supply killed 195 more people in May, putting 2022 on course to be the third consecutive deadliest year in the  public health emergency.

More than six people died each day on average in May, the BC Coroners Service reported today. That’s the highest number ever recorded in the month of May.

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Health

BC’s Opioid Lawsuit Win No Cause for Celebration, Say Advocates

By Moira Wyton, The Tyee, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A British Columbia-led lawsuit against more than 40 pharmaceutical companies has resulted in a proposed $150-million settlement with Purdue  Pharma Canada for health-care costs related to the company’s marketing  of opioid pain medications.

But advocates say the  lawsuit is also an exercise in distracting the public from the  government’s failure to make changes — including introducing safe supply  — that would have saved thousands of lives lost to toxic drugs.

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