'This is a fentanyl crisis': B.C.’s chief coroner on data linking 142 young deaths to toxic drugs

British Columbia is getting a clearer picture of how the drug overdose crisis is impacting its youngest population, after new data was released by the coroners service on Monday.

Between Jan. 1, 2017 and Dec. 31, 2022, the BC Coroners Service says 142 deaths among people aged 19 and younger were linked to toxic drugs.

That number accounts for about 1.4 per cent of the total 10,453 deaths recorded in that six-year span, according to Lisa Lapointe, the province’s chief coroner.

“Fortunately, youth have represented a very small number of those who died,” Lapointe told CTV News on Monday. “We know there’s a lot of interest in the youth data and we wanted to provide a fulsome picture.”

While the number represents a small proportion, it’s more than triple the annual average of 6.4 deaths that population saw between 2012 and 2016.

In the most recent period, unregulated drug toxicity was the leading cause of unnatural deaths among people younger than 19 years old, ahead of suicide and motor vehicle accidents.

A mental health diagnosis, or evidence of a mental health disorder, was linked to 67 per cent of the fatalities.

Nearly three-quarters of youth who died “were in receipt of Ministry of Children and Family Development services at one point," according to the data.

Close to two-thirds of the young deaths recorded were among people between 17 and 18 years old, according to the BCCS.

COMPARING THE DATA

Lapointe points to one noticeable difference in the data on youth, compared to that of the general population—the make-up of males and females dying.

While 80 per cent of the deaths recorded across every age group involved men, the make up of young fatalities is almost equally split between male and female.

More than one-third, 51, of the young deaths happened in the Fraser Health authority. In the general population, a majority of deaths have been recorded in the Vancouver Coastal Health and Northern Health regions.

“(Fraser Health) is a very large health authorities, so it does make sense that that’s where we should see the highest number of deaths, just by population,” Lapointe said.

She adds that there are many families in that region as well, and the death toll may be a consequence of the demographic of age groups that live in that area.

Regardless of where these deaths are occurring, area-code wise, most young people are dying from toxic drugs at their homes while using alone.

Like the general population, the data on youth shows most of the deaths—74 per cent—occurred in private residencies, and slightly more than half occurred while people were using drugs alone.

FENTANYL, NOT SAFE SUPPLY, DRIVING THE CRISIS

In addition, just as adults are dying as a result of fentanyl, so too are youth.

The data shows fentanyl, either alone or in combination with other drugs, accounted for 78 per cent of all young deaths.

“This is a fentanyl crisis,” Lapointe said. “Safer supply, which to a large extent has been hydromorphone in this province, is not playing a significant role in youth deaths.”

Of all the youth deaths the BCCS has investigated in the last six years, only 8 per cent had hydromorphone present, according to Lapointe.

“In none of those cases was hydromorphone the only drug present in the person’s system,” she added.

She says the province wants to send the same message to people who use drugs, regardless of their age: Don’t use alone.

“The importance of anti-stigma is that we help youth feel safe, if they are using substances, to tell somebody and to ask for support,” Lapointe said.

“It’s very concerning when children die as a result of drug toxicity. The drug supply is toxic, and it’s always concerning when youth are purchasing from the toxic, illicit market.”

‘WE WON’T STOP WORKING’

Jennifer Whiteside, the minister of mental health and addictions, released a statement Monday in response to the coroner’s report.

“A critical part of our work is supporting young people. Wellness promotion, addressing mental-health problems and early intervention can stop small problems from becoming bigger down the road, and the earlier we provide support, the better the outcome,” Whiteside said.

She pointed to initiatives launched by B.C.’s government as recently as last week, when 24 new youth substance-use treatment and recovery beds were opened in Surrey and Vancouver.

Across the province, there are currently 15 Foundry centres where British Columbians aged 12 to 24 can access mental-health, addictions and primary health-care supports.

Whiteside says another eight centres are in development, and there are plans to open another 12 in the future.

The province is also expanding Integrated Child and Youth teams to 20 school districts around B.C., adding to the five already open and another seven in the works.

“This ongoing public health emergency is undoubtedly one of the biggest challenges this province has faced. We won't stop working until we have an integrated system of mental-health and addictions services in place to help British Columbians of all ages get the support they need and deserve,” Whiteside concluded.