BC had more overdoses than homicides, suicides, and car crash deaths combined in 2020

According to Global News, this is an average of 4.7 deaths a day; a record high.

"The impacts of COVID-19 highlighted the immensely precarious situation of those experiencing problematic substance use in our province," chief coroner Lisa Lapointe said in a press conference.

"Decades of criminalization, an increasingly toxic illicit drug market and the lack of timely access to evidence-based treatment and recovery services have resulted in the loss of thousands of lives in B.C. It’s clear that urgent change is needed to prevent future deaths and the resulting grief and loss so many families and communities have experienced across our province," continued Lapointe.

The BC NDP's solution is to ask the federal government for an exemption, allowing possession of small amounts of illicit drugs as not a criminal offence. If approved, B.C. will be the first jurisdiction in the country to employ this method.