The Comox Valley had its the first drop in unregulated drug deaths since 2021.

According to information released by the Province on Feb. 4, the Comox Valley local health area had a total of 33 deaths due to unregulated drug use. That is down from 37, which was the number for both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, there were 35 deaths due to unregulated drugs. The year prior only had 14. The number more than doubled in the second year of the pandemic, and has remained at a similar level ever since.

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 main mode of consumption on the Island for people who died from unregulated drugs was smoking, at just over 70 per cent.

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.

Since the drug crisis was declared in 2016, far more men have died due to toxic drugs. This year, 71.6 per cent of deaths on the Island were men. However, for the first time since before the pandemic the age demographic has seen a slight shift. This year, the 30-39 and 40-49 age ranges both had roughly 25 per cent of the drug deaths, respectively. In previous years, there were more people aged 50-59, though those numbers have been within a few percentage points of each other since the province began tracking data.