VICTORIA — British Columbia needs a significant shift in how it treats people who use drugs, the province’s chief coroner said Tuesday after releasing statistics showing 1,011 people died from suspected illicit overdoses from January to June.
It’s the highest death toll recorded in the first six months of a calendar year during the province’s overdose crisis. June was the ninth consecutive month during which at least 150 B.C. residents died as a result of the supply of toxic street drugs.