A new report from the British Columbia Coroners Service has revealed that the drug crisis claimed 2,253 lives in the province in 2024 — over six per day.
Nonetheless, drug-related deaths were down 13% over the year before.
According to the government, of those who died in 2024 as a result of drugs, around 70% were between the ages of 30 and 59, and nearly 75% were male. The female death rate was far lower, at 20 per 100,000, however that number has gone up rapidly since 2020, when it sat at just 13 per 100,000.
While the crisis impacted all areas of the province, the hardest hit areas were Vancouver-Centre north, Lillooet, Greater Campbell River, Terrace, and Prince George. The former is home to the Downtown Eastside.
When it came to which drugs were causing the most harm, fentanyl was by far and away the biggest culprit, detected in 78% of all tests. Next up were cocaine, fluorofentanyl, methamphetamine, and bromazolam, at 52%, 46%, 43%, and 41%, respectively.
"The information collected by our coroners during their investigations into unregulated drug toxicity deaths, indicates a decline in fatalities over the last several months of 2024," Chief Coroner Dr. Jatinder Baidwan said. "This is consistent with reporting from other jurisdictions in Canada and internationally."
He made it clear that, "this doesn't mitigate the fact that 2,253 members of our communities died in 2024, leaving behind grieving loved ones, friends, colleagues and teammates."
British Columbia declared a toxic drug crisis in 2016. Since then, 16,047 people in the province have lost their lives at the hands of illicit substances.
