B.C. sees record number of 911 calls about toxic drug overdoses, health authority says

The First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) said that British Columbia has seen a record number of 911 calls related to toxic drug poisonings, as officials issue warnings about an increasingly tainted supply.

In a Facebook post, the FNHA said that last week saw a record number of emergency calls, with a one-day record set on Nov. 19.

In addition, Vancouver Fire Rescue Services (VFRS) said that firefighters in the city responded to a record number of overdoses on Nov. 21.

Officials have linked the spike in 911 calls and overdoses to the potent opioid fentanyl being mixed with the animal tranquilizer medetomidine.

WATCH | Trade workers more susceptible to toxic drug deaths:

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It’s led to warnings for drug users to test their drugs and not use alone, as well as fears that more overdoses could reverse a downward trend of toxic drug deaths compared to the previous years.

“Because of the uptick in the number of calls last week, you know, it is concerning — because we do not want to see a backslide into the years that we had previously,” said Dr. Nel Wieman, the FNHA’s chief medical officer.

The Vancouver area wasn’t alone in seeing a spike in drug overdoses last week. A Cowichan Valley shelter running out of naloxone on Nov. 18 as the area saw more than 80 overdoses.

As of Sept. 30, there have been an estimated 1,384 unregulated drug deaths in B.C. this year, according to the B.C. Coroners Service. 

This year’s overdose rate is down 31 per cent compared to two years ago, according to B.C. Coroners Service data, part of a decline that has been occurring across much of North America.

Wieman said the spike in 911 calls related to toxic drug poisonings — with the record number not immediately provided — should not be viewed as a failure of harm reduction.

“Rather, it is a issue of the people who make and distribute the unregulated supply of substances … it’s like quicksand under our feet. You know, we’re always trying to pivot and respond,” the medical health officer said.

Matthew Trudeau, a public information officer with Vancouver Fire Rescue Services, linked the spike in overdose calls that the city’s firefighters dealt with last week to cheque week — the week when income assistance payments are given out in B.C. — which researchers have linked to a spike in people buying and using drugs.

Trudeau said firefighters had generally seen a reduction in overdose calls over the course of the summer, but last week saw an average of 45 calls related to drug poisonings across the city.

“Then from here, we see that drastic increase, which was unfortunately not a number we want to break as far as a historic number or marker goes — we had 54 [calls] on Friday for overdoses,” the firefighter said.

Veterinary tranquilizer

Both Vancouver Coastal Health and the FNHA issued warnings about the drug supply being contaminated with medetomidine this week.

VCH said that there had been an increasing number of non-fatal overdoses in recent weeks linked to fentanyl being contaminated with the animal tranquilizer, which, like xylazine, does not respond to naloxone.

“Medetomidine overdose is like opioid overdose but also includes low heart rate and prolonged sedation (sedation for many hours),” the health authority said in a warning.

WATCH | Animal tranquilizer called xylazine also found in drugs:

More street drugs being laced with toxic animal tranquillizer

A dangerous animal tranquillizer called xylazine is increasingly finding its way into the illegal drug supply, Health Canada data shows. The drug can cause serious side effects and is resistant to naloxone, the fast-acting medication that can reverse opioid overdoses.

Officials urged drug users to get their drugs checked, and said naloxone should still be given out if an overdose is suspected.

Wieman said that medetomidine had been found intermittently in the unregulated supply since 2023.

She cautioned against disinformation and misinformation being spread about the reasons for the spike in emergency calls, saying harm reduction efforts have definitely helped slow toxic drug deaths so far this year.

“I would want to emphasize that the people who work on the front lines, who work in the communities are doing, you know, their heroic jobs on a day-to-day basis,” she said.