At least 1,018 people have died from toxic drugs in B.C. in the first five months of this year, 19 of whom were in the Kootenays.
According to the BC Coroners Service, 218 people dies in April alone, with a further 176 deaths reported in May.
In the Kootenays, two East Kootenay residents died in April, and another in May.
Meanwhile, the Kootenay Boundary reported no deaths in April and two in May.
“BC Coroners Service findings confirm that this public-health emergency continues to be driven by illicit fentanyl,” said Lisa Lapointe, chief coroner. “Expedited testing in 2023 is positive for fentanyl in almost nine out of every 10 results, nearly double the positivity rate of methamphetamine and cocaine, the next most commonly identified substances. As long as people are reliant on the profit-driven unregulated market to access the substances they need, their lives are at risk.”
Coroners Service officials said unregulated drug toxicity has become the leading cause of death in our province for people between 10 and 59 years old.
According to officials, of the 10,453 toxic drug deaths reported to coroners between Jan. 1, 2017, and Dec. 31, 2022, 142 involved people under the age of 19.
This made up 1.4 per cent of the total deaths in that time frame.
“We know that young people are not immune from the extreme dangers of the unregulated drug supply,” Lapointe said. “In responding to this health crisis, it is critically important that we heed the recommendations of experts and ensure a robust system of care that includes increased access to timely, evidence-based treatment and recovery services, and to a safer substance supply as an alternative to the toxic black market. A public-health crisis of this magnitude demands a comprehensive response that meets people where they are and provides the services they need to survive.”
According to the Coroners Service, fentanyl or its analogues were found in 78 per cent of all deaths this year, either alone or in combination with other substances.