Illicit drug death toll surpasses 2,000 in B.C. for a 2nd consecutive year
British Columbia reported 2,272 illicit drugs deaths in 2022, new data released by the BC Coroners Service shows.
The fatalities from the last two months of the year—the second consecutive one in which the province surpassed 2,000 lives lost—shows toxic drugs killed 182 people in November and another 210 in December.
While announcing the service’s latest findings Tuesday, Chief Coroner Lisa Lapointe made a direct apology to people who have lost loved ones due to illicit drugs.
“I am so sorry – their lives mattered, and their deaths are our collective loss,” said Lapointe.
Approximately 6.4 deaths occurred daily last year on average, with people aged 30-59 representing 70 per cent of fatalities. That’s approximately the same daily death toll B.C. saw in 2021.
“B.C. has experienced an average of six deaths of every day of every week for two years due to toxic drugs and these deaths were preventable,” Lapointe said. “Drug toxicity remains the leading cause of unnatural deaths in B.C., significantly surpassing the number of fatalities linked to self-harm, motor vehicle accidents and homicide combined.”
EVERY CORNER OF B.C. AFFECTED
While all parts of the province are being impacted by the toxic drug crisis, three of the five health authorities experienced record high rates of death, according to Lapointe.
For every 100,000 people, Interior Health saw 46 deaths, Vancouver Coastal Health reported 50.5 and North Health saw 59.5.
The majority of deaths, 55 per cent, have happened in private residences. Twenty-nine per cent of people died in other residences including social and supportive housing, and 15 per cent happened outside in vehicles, streets and parks.
One person died at an overdose prevention site.
DRUG DEATHS BY DEMOGRPHIC
Men accounted for the vast majority of deaths at nearly 80 per cent, while the average age of someone dying of drug toxicity was 44 years old.
In the past two years, Lapointe says there have been 65 deaths of children and youth, a demographic that represents 1.5 per cent of drug toxicity fatalities.
“The actual number of those under age 19 dying has grown as the total number of deaths continues to increase rapidly,” said Lapointe.
DEADLIEST DRUGS
Preliminary data shows that fentanyl or its analogues—acetylfentanyl, carfentanyl, norfentayl—were detected in 82 per cent of toxic drug deaths in 2022, marking a four per cent drop from the year prior. Carfentanil accounted for 126 deaths last year, which is 66 fewer than in 2021.
According to BC Coroner Service, the number of people who died with “extreme fentanyl concentrations” was greatest between April and November of last year.
After fentanyl, cocaine has been the second most prevalent drug detected in fatal overdoses. Between July 2020 and December 2022, cocaine was linked to 46 per cent of deaths, followed by methamphetamine at 41 per cent.
“There’s no indication that prescribed safe supply is contributing to illicit drug deaths,” Lapointe said.
Since the province declared a public health emergency over illicit drug deaths in 2016, British Columbia has recorded more than 11,000 fatalities.
“We all look forward to the day this public health emergency is over and these updates are no longer necessary,” said Lapointe.
The latest data on the crisis was released on the first day of B.C.’s three-year pilot project decriminalizing small amounts of illegal drugs for personal use.
Jennifer Whiteside, the province’s mental health and addictions minister, says that while decriminalization is not enough to reduce illicit drug deaths, it can help destigmatize substance use and encourage people to seek services they may need.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Regan Hasegawa
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'A step forward': New screening criteria for sperm donors takes effect
Canadians looking to grow their families with the assistance of sperm or egg donations should soon have more options for donors as the federal health agency does away with longstanding restrictions criticized as discriminatory.
What is whooping cough and should Canadians be concerned as Europe declares outbreak?
There is currently a whooping cough epidemic in Europe, with 10 times as many cases compared to the previous two years. While an outbreak has not been declared nationwide in Canada, whooping cough is regularly detected in the country.
Ontario Provincial Police arrest 64 suspects in child sexual exploitation investigation
Ontario Provincial Police say 64 suspects are facing a combined 348 charges in connection with a series of child sexual exploitation investigations that spanned the province.
'Summer of discontent': Federal unions vow to fight new 3-day a week office mandate
Federal unions are launching legal challenges and encouraging public sector workers to file "tens of thousands" of grievances over the new mandate requiring federal workers to return to the office at least three days a week in the fall.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Watch fighter jet pilots pummel fake enemy ship off coast of Philippines
The United States and Philippines held annual joint-training drills just off the Southeast Asian nation’s western coast on Wednesday. Military forces sunk a 'mock' enemy warship – the BRP Lake Caliraya, which was a decommissioned tanker made in China.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his head more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.
'Ozempic babies': Reports of surprise pregnancies raise new questions about weight loss drugs
Numerous women have shared stories of 'Ozempic babies' on social media. But the joy some experience in discovering pregnancies may come with anxiety about the unknowns.
Rookie goalie Arturs Silovs to start for Canucks in Game 1 vs. Oilers
Rookie goalie Arturs Silovs will start in net for the Canucks as Vancouver kicks off a second-round series against the Edmonton Oilers Wednesday night.