According to the latest report from the BC Coroners Service, two residents from the Kootenays were killed by toxic drugs in October.
One person passed away in both the East Kootenay and Kootenay Boundary regions.
Province-wide, preliminary results found that 155 people died from drug poisoning in October.
In the first 10 months of 2024, 30 people were killed by toxic drugs in the Kootenay Boundary and 18 people died in the East Kootenay.
The BC Coroners Service says 1,925 people died across the province in the first 10 months of the year.
B.C. officials say October is the lowest number of drug-related deaths since September 2020.
“This is a 9% decrease, representing a significant decline in the number of deaths, compared with the first 10 months of 2023 (2,107 deaths),” said the B.C. government.
“October’s data equates to about five deaths per day. The BC Coroners Service does not have the investigative data to suggest why this decrease has occurred, though it is consistent with reporting from other jurisdictions.”
Paulette Sutherland, ANKORS Team Lead and Moving Mountains Community Action Team Coordinator, says peer support has a significant role in reducing drug poisoning deaths.
“The folks who have come in and accessed our services have saved thousands of lives. They do this through being together, taking care of each other, making sure they have naloxone kits and encouraging each other to get their drug checked,” explained Sutherland.
“I think these stats are likely impacted by the champions on the street, which are the peers.”
While the numbers have decreased, Sutherland says the toxic drug crisis is still a significant threat.
“When we see the numbers come down slightly, of course, we’re thrilled, but we want people to know that in our rural community, we recently had a sample coming through that caused deaths in the West and Central Kootenay areas,” said Sutherland.
“We know the drugs that are in different communities, especially in rural areas, come to other towns like Cranbrook. We recently had a death here, but that’s not recorded in the statistical data yet. There is still a toxic drug emergency out there and we are still seeing high numbers in our rural communities.”
Getting drugs checked by organizations like ANKORS is an important step to staying safe.
“Our biggest way to prevent these deaths is through our robust drug-checking program that’s funded through Interior Health,” said Sutherland.
“We really encourage folks who are using drugs to come in, no matter what their age or demographic is, to come in and get their drugs checked. It’s the biggest thing I can say that’s helping the numbers be a bit lower than last year.”
The B.C. government says drug toxicity is still the leading cause of unnatural death for B.C. residents aged 10 to 59, and accounts for more deaths than homicides, suicides, accidents and natural disease combined.
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