Over 1,150 toxic-drug deaths in B.C. in 1st half of 2024: coroner

At least 1,158 British Columbians died of toxic, unregulated drugs in the first half of 2024, the B.C. Coroners Service says — a rate of about six people per day.

It's a nine per cent decrease compared to the first six months of the previous record-setting year.

"We are encouraged by these numbers, but more work needs to be done," Mark Lysyshyn, deputy chief medical health officer with Vancouver Coastal Health, said in an interview with CBC News." Although we're seeing some improvements, this is still a very serious problem in a lot of places.

Drug toxicity continues to be the leading cause of death in B.C. for people aged 10-59, according to the B.C. Coroners Service.

"People are continuing to lose their loved ones in communities across B.C. at a tragic rate," Acting Chief Coroner John McNamee said in a statement.

In response to the latest figures, B.C. Mental Health and Addictions Minister Jennifer Whiteside said the province is ramping up its capacity to care for substance users. 

"Every single one of these people was irreplaceable to their loved ones," she said in a statement. "These losses reinforce the urgent need to keep people safe from toxic drugs and to connect them with care and treatment."

The coroners' service says Vancouver saw the highest number of deaths, representing 22 per cent of the deaths so far this year, followed by Surrey at 10 per cent. 

The highest per capita rate of toxic drug deaths was in the northern Interior, with about 107 deaths per 100,000 people.

The service says it detected fentanyl in about four of every five drug tests conducted so far this year.  Lysyshyn said the specific contaminants in B.C. drug supplies are constantly changing.

The latest monthly figures show there were 181 and 185 deaths linked to illicit drug use in May and June, respectively. Nearly half of those who died were aged 30-49. Men accounted for 72 per cent of the deaths so far this year. 

Last year, more than 2,500 people died of toxic drug deaths, the highest annual number recorded. The same year, B.C. Emergency Health Services says paramedics responded to an approximate 42,000 poisoning/overdose events — about 113 calls per day and also a record high. 

Whiteside says there are more than 650 more beds across provincial health-care facilities for substance-related treatment and recovery than there were in 2017.

The province has also added 500 spaces in housing complexes that offer support services to adults who need substance-related support, she added.

"We will continue to work to ensure everyone in B.C. has access to the right care at the right time and in the right place," Whiteside said.

Lysyshyn said these efforts need to be accompanied by harm reduction efforts, including take-home naloxone kits, overdose prevention sites and safe consumption sites. 

"We really need both components to be part of this response," he said. "We need to invest in reduction ... to keep people alive so they can eventually access treatment."