Count the cost of British Columbia's drug crisis

The toxic drug crisis is one of the most contentious and debated issues leading up to British Columbia's provincial election on October 19.

Here's a look at provincial statistics on toxic drug deaths through July 31, according to the BC Coroners Service.

—

Deaths since the health emergency was declared in April 2016: 15,140

2024 deaths: 1,365

2024 deaths with evidence of fentanyl: 83 percent

2024 deaths involving smoking as a form of drug use: 68 percent

2024 victims who were men: 73 percent

Deaths per day in 2024: 6.4

Deaths in July 2024: 192, a 15 percent decrease from July 2023.

September 24, 2024: “One of the major challenges with the prescriptive safe care program is that there are simply not enough doctors who can prescribe. So, as I said, there are estimates, reliable estimates, that in our province there are about 225,000 people using substances that are not regulated.” “Less than 2 percent of those people have access to regulated care,” said Lisa Lapointe, former chief executive. Coroner.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 28, 2024.

The Canadian Press