Number of drug-related deaths in N.L. in 2023 nearly double previous year: documents

Drug-related deaths in Newfoundland and Labrador nearly doubled in 2023 over the previous year, according to the latest numbers, with cocaine being the main culprit.

According to documents from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner obtained by an access-to-information request and posted by independent researcher Matt Barter, there were 73 drug-related deaths across the province last year. The number represents a 97 per cent increase from the 37 cases of accidental drug deaths in 2022.

Broken down by the province's four health regions, there were 51 deaths in the Eastern zone, seven in the Central zone, 10 in the Western zone and five in the Labrador-Grenfell zone.

The document also shows cocaine was the biggest killer, accounting for 34 deaths, followed by 13 deaths due to benzodiazepines, 11 deaths from alcohol and nine from fentanyl.

The document also noted those numbers could rise if more drug-related deaths are confirmed.

Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Nash Denic's office declined a request for an interview.

In February, the province's top pathologist told CBC News the confirmed number of drug-related deaths for 2023 was 57 but noted the number could climb as more test results come back.

More needs to be done, says mother of overdose victim

Tina Olivero's son Ben, who died of an drug overdose in July at the age of 20, was one of those 73 deaths.

Drugs are in the province's schools, Olivero told CBC News, and the problem needs to be targeted in the same way as any other life-threatening situation. 

"When someone has an allergy to peanuts, for example, everybody's notified. Everybody gathers around and tries to help and tries to mitigate the risk for that child. Well, we're not doing that with drugs," said Olivero, who called the province's drug problem a crisis.

A 2023 University of Toronto study found more than one in four deaths among young people in Canada in 2021 were opioid-related.

Olivero welcomed the recent news that naloxone kits — which contain a medicine that rapidly reverses an opioid overdoses — are now available as part of first-aid supplies at junior and senior high schools.

"We have EpiPens in schools. We have guidelines for how to manage anaphylaxis in schools right now. And we require the same guidelines for life-saving naloxone," she told CBC News.

Government announces review

Olivero has advocated for what she calls "compassionate involuntary care" for people with addictions, which would give family members more power over how people with addictions receive treatment. She said she took her son to the Janeway children's hospital multiple times but people with drug addictions aren't able to assess for themselves whether they need treatment.

On Monday the Department of Health and Community Service announced Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services is launching a review of inpatient addiction treatment services. Through $100,000 from the province, an external vendor will be hired to review best practices and make recommendations on inpatient addictions treatment.

The review will look at wait-time reduction, length of stay, patient-client relationship, discharge practices and community reintegration, withdrawal management, service delivery through virtual care and resource sharing, and gender-informed practices.

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