New data from the BC Coroners Service shows that another eight Kamloops residents died due to toxic drugs in the month of March.
That takes the total in Kamloops this year to 28 people – an average of 9.3 deaths a month – putting the city on pace for a record 112 toxic drug deaths this year, breaking the old record of 92 set in 2022.
Provincewide, the BC Coroners say there were at least 192 people who died of toxic drug poisoning in March – an average of 6.2 per day – taking the total in B.C. to 572 people this year.
“So far this year, about seven in every 10 of those who have died from toxic drugs were between the ages of 30 and 59,” the BC Coroners said, in a statement.
“While nearly three-quarters of those killed have been males, it is worth noting that the rate of death among females is climbing year over year: 23 deaths per 100,000 in 2024, compared with 20.6 deaths per 100,000 females for all of 2023.”
The death toll was released on the same day federal Mental Health and Addictions Minister Ya’ara Saks announced approval of the request by B.C. to prohibit the use of illicit drugs in most public spaces once again.
Jennifer Whiteside, B.C.’s minister of mental health and addictions, says the losses underscore the urgency of continuing to respond to the public-health emergency.
At least 14,400 people have died since the provincial government declared a public-health emergency in April 2016.
You can find more information from the BC Coroners Service here.
– With files from The Canadian Press