MIL-OSI Canada: More than 1,700 lives lost to drug toxicity in first nine months of 2024

Unregulated toxic drugs claimed the lives of 187 British Columbians in August and 183 in September, according to the BC Coroners Service.

The preliminary data finds that since January 2024, at least 1,749 people have died from unregulated drug toxicity in communities throughout the province.

The data for the first nine months of 2024 represents an 8% decrease from the number of deaths during the first nine months of 2023 (1,896). In both August and September, approximately six people died each day from suspected unregulated drugs.

Additional findings from the latest report include:

• 48% of unregulated drug deaths in September were people between the ages of 30 and 49, while 1.1% were 18 years of age and below.
• 77% of unregulated drug deaths in September were males, up from the year-to-date figure of 74% in 2024.
• 26% of deaths related to unregulated drug toxicity were females in 2024. The rate of death among females is 21 per 100,000 people, an increase of 60% from 2020 (13 per 100,000).
• Vancouver (45), Surrey (19) and Greater Victoria (16) had the highest number of unregulated drug toxicity deaths in September.
• While the health authorities of Vancouver Coastal and Interior Health had the highest number of unregulated drug deaths in September with 50 in each region, Interior (5.6) and Northern Health (4.3) had the highest rates of unregulated drug deaths per 100,000 people.
• Fentanyl was detected in 85% and stimulants in 81% of unregulated drug deaths in September 2024 that underwent expedited toxicological testing.

Please note the data is preliminary and subject to change as additional toxicology results are received and investigations are concluded.

Learn More:

To learn more about August and September 2024 unregulated drug toxicity deaths, visit: https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiZThmOTkxMzgtZWUzNS00ODk1LWJiZjItYzMyMTFjNmY0MzJiIiwidCI6IjZmZGI1MjAwLTNkMGQtNGE4YS1iMDM2LWQzNjg1ZTM1OWFkYyJ9

To learn more about youth unregulated drug toxicity deaths, 2019-2023, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/birth-adoption-death-marriage-and-divorce/deaths/coroners-service/statistical/youth_unregulated_drug_toxicity_deaths_in_bc_2019-2023.pdf

To learn more about Unregulated Drug Toxicity Type of Drug Data (to Dec. 31, 2022), visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/birth-adoption-death-marriage-and-divorce/deaths/coroners-service/statistical/illicit-drug-type.pdf

To learn more about BC Coroners Service Death Review Panel: An Urgent Response to a Continuing Crisis, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/birth-adoption-death-marriage-and-divorce/deaths/coroners-service/death-review-panel/an_urgent_response_to_a_continuing_crisis_report.pdf

To learn more about BC Coroners Service Death Review Panel: A Review of Illicit Drug Toxicity Deaths, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/birth-adoption-death-marriage-and-divorce/deaths/coroners-service/death-review-panel/review_of_illicit_drug_toxicity_deaths_2022.pdf

To learn more about Toward the Heart, visit: https://www.towardtheheart.com

To learn more about Stop Overdose BC, visit: https://www.stopoverdose.gov.bc.ca

To learn more about BC Centre on Substance Use, visit: https://www.bccsu.ca