Fatal overdoses from unregulated drugs experienced a decline across the Island Health region for the first time in five years in 2024.
The B.C. Coroners Service 446 deaths from unregulated drugs in 2024 across the region, after 487 in 2023. Provincially, it dropped from 2,568 in 2023 to 2,253 in 2024. The last time Island numbers dropped was in 2019, when there were 167 deaths, compared to 249 the year before.
Dr. R茅ka Gustafson, Island Health's chief medical health officer said due to the lack of regulation around street drugs, it's hard to know exactly what's causing the decline.
"What we do know, is that when there's an increase in deaths, it's often associated with an increase in toxicity of the drugs," Gustafson said. "So one hypothesis is the drug supply has become slightly more predictable and perhaps slightly less concentrated."
That hypothesis is shared by Dr. Jess Wilder, a doctor in families and addiction medicine, and co-founder of Doctors for Safer Drug Policy, which is responsible for setting up unsanctioned overdose prevention sites at Island Health hospitals.
"One possible explanation is that the drug supply is changing," Wilder said in a statement. "Why that might be, I couldn't start to speculate on. We are certainly seeing the fentanyl supply contaminated with an increased number of other substances than ever before. A more devastating answer may be that we have reached 'mortality saturation', meaning those at highest risk of death from this crisis have already died."
In a press release, Dr. Jatinder Baidwan, B.C.'s chief coroner, said the numbers are consistent with other jurisdictions in Canada and internationally.
鈥淭his doesn鈥檛 mitigate the fact that 2,253 members of our communities died in 2024, leaving behind grieving loved ones, friends, colleagues and teammates," Baidwan said. "Our thoughts are with all of those many, many people who have been touched by this crisis.鈥�
The report noted that fentanyl was detected in 78 per cent of the deaths that had undergone expedited toxicology testing, followed by cocaine in 52 per cent, fluorofentanyl in 46 per cent and meth in 43 per cent. Seventy-four per cent of the deaths were men, and 70 per cent were aged between 30 to 59.
On the Island, 87 per cent of the deaths were due to fentanyl and analogues, and the next nearest amount was cocaine at 48.9 per cent. The drugs involved were noted by the coroner as being "relevant to the death" and there was no indication as to when the drug was taken. Also, the drugs may have been taken in combination with others, since methamphetamines and other amphetamines as well as benzodiazepines were present in just under 50 per cent of deaths.
The majority of deaths in the province occurred in private or other residences. Locally on the Island 54 per cent of people died in their homes, and another 20 per cent died in other residences.
While numbers have declined, Gustafson noted that they remain higher than they were pre-COVID-19 pandemic and when the provincial government declared a public health emergency in 2016 due to the significant rise in opioid-related overdose deaths.
"While there has been a flattening and a bit of a decline, and it's a very, very welcome decline," she noted, "I think it's important to remember it's after several years of a very significant increase."
Moving forward to address the crisis, Gustafson said Island Health intends to continue to provide overdose prevention services in a systematic way, and ensure access to withdrawal and treatment services.
"The other thing that we really need to invest in is services to improve youth resilience," she said. "The services that ensure that our youth have the resilience to have healthy relationships with substances in their lives and hopefully prevent substance-use disorders and addictions that put people at risk of overdose deaths."
The B.C. Coroners Service 94 deaths in Nanaimo from unregulated drugs in 2024, after 114 in 2023. This marks the first time the city experienced a decline since 2019, when it dropped from 56 to 38.
The Comox Valley local health area had a total of 33 deaths. That is down from 37, which was the number for both 2022 and 2023
The Greater Campbell River Area, meanwhile, bucked the trend. According to a report from the BC Coroners Service, Campbell River had 109.1 deaths per 100,000 in 2024. In 2023, it was 93.3.
The Greater Victoria area saw 129 die in 2024.
Josie Osborne, B.C.'s Minister of Health, published a statement saying that the decrease "no way diminishes grief that permeates our communities."
鈥淭his public health emergency touches every corner of our province. Addiction can be influenced by many factors, including housing challenges, the cost of living, mental and physical pain, and intergenerational trauma," she wrote. "By addressing these issues openly and expanding supports, we can help reduce the stigma around substance use and encourage individuals to seek help rather than struggle in addiction."
鈥� with Black Press Media files
