Long-term opioid users suffer with crumbling bones, brain injuries and little hope of treatment

Now in his late 50s, he’s an overdose survivor who has beaten back his demons. But his past has taken a toll on his body, leaving his back bent at an impossible angle, and surgery out of reach.

Lampkin has lost count of the friends he’s lost to overdoses and organ failure.

The opioid crisis has claimed more than 13,000 lives in his province since 2016. On Nov. 1, the B.C. Coroners Service confirmed another 175 suspected deaths in September. That’s 10 per cent less than died in Sept. 2022, but still 5.8 drug deaths per day, with most deaths reported in Vancouver, Surrey and Greater Victoria.

Of the 225,000 British Columbians using unregulated substances, fewer than 5,000 receive safe supply prescriptions, according to provincial data.

Opioid overdoses have claimed 38,514 lives in Canada in the past seven years, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada. Many others survive, like Lampkin, but are left with injuries or chronic health issues that then hinder their rehabilitation.