It is the third consecutive month with more than 170 overdose deaths, said B.C.’s chief coroner Lisa Lapointe at a press conference on Tuesday.

That equates to almost six people dying a day from illicit drug overdoses across B.C in July, and almost 6,000 deaths since the province declared the overdose crisis a public health emergency in April of 2016, Lapointe stressed.

“The number of people dying in B.C. due to an unsafe drug supply continues to surpass deaths due to homicides, motor vehicle accidents, suicide and COVID-19 combined,” Lapointe said.

But even as calls to decriminalize illicit drug use are mounting, Health Canada said Tuesday that Ottawa isn’t considering decriminalization…