Two hundred and seventy-five people died due to toxic drugs in BC in February and March this year.
That’s from new data by BC Coroners Service, finding that 132 people lost their lives in February and 143 people lost their lives in March, equaling 4.7 and 4.6 deaths per day respectively.
The service says in the first three months of this year, 67 per cent of the reported deaths were adults between the ages of 30 and 59, with 76 per cent of them being men.
“March marks the sixth consecutive month in which the number of deaths reported to the BC Coroners Service attributed to unregulated drug toxicity was below 160,” they say.
“Forty-five per cent of deaths reported occurred in a private residence, compared with 20 per cent outdoors, and smoking continues to be the primary mode of consumption of unregulated toxic drugs, with 62 per cent of investigations indicating the decedent smoked their substances.”
The data finds for health authorities, Fraser Health had the highest number of deaths at 141, followed by Vancouver Coastal Health at 114, Island Health had 69 reported deaths.
Powell River and the Sunshine Coast had 13 deaths, 47 deaths for the Cowichan Valley, 98 deaths for Greater Nanaimo, 33 deaths for the Comox Valley, and 55 deaths for Greater Campbell River.
They add fentanyl was found in 70 percent of these deaths, with methamphetamine at 50 percent, fluorofentanyl at 47 percent, and cocaine at 46 percent.
