192 toxic drug deaths in B.C. in July, down 15 per cent, says coroner

The British Columbia Coroners Service says at least 192 people died in July in the province due to unregulated drug toxicity, down 15 per cent from the same month last year.

The service says in a release that 1,365 people have died of drug toxicity this year up to the end of July, a rate of death that is also down.

The annualized death rate is 41 per 100,000 residents, compared to 46.6 in 2023 and 43.9 in 2021.

Chief coroner Dr. Jatinder Baidwan says the current rate equates to about 6.2 people dying every day in the province from the drug toxicity crisis.

Coroners service data show the greatest number of suspected drug toxicity deaths this year have been in Vancouver with 296, Surrey with 130 and Greater Victoria with 101, while the Northern Health's region has the highest concentration of cases at 75.7 deaths per 100,000 people.

Provincial Mental Health and Addictions Minister Jennifer Whiteside says in a statement that the latest numbers are a sombre reminder that B.C. needs to "expand access to treatment and recovery."

"Getting help should be quick and easy, no matter where you live in British Columbia or where you are in your recovery journey," Whiteside says, noting the province's recent launch of an Opioid Treatment Access Line offering health-care connections to those in need of support.