By Pete McIntyre

Drug overdose deaths decline

Oct 16, 2019 | 11:27 AM

Eleven people in Vernon died from illicit drug overdoses this year, according to figures released by the B.C. Coroner’s Service.

That is the number of fatalities to the end of August, and compares to 24 fatalities in the city for all of last year.

Kelowna recorded 19 drug overdose deaths in 2019, compared to 55 in 2018, while Kamloops had 24 deaths, compared to 46 all of last year.

Provincially, 690 people died from overdoses to the end of August, 347 fewer (33 per cent) than the same period last year.

The B.C. numbers for August show 79 suspected illicit drug fatalities, a 37 per cent decrease from August 2018 (125), and a 13 per cent increase from July this year (70).

Charger rollout

Phased approach planned for EV chargers at Vernon ALC

Apr 24, 2026

Secondary Dwellings

Coldstream considering more housing on agricultural lands

Apr 24, 2026

Wildfire Risks

Okanagan's Fire Danger Rating already up to Moderate

Apr 23, 2026

“It is certainly encouraging to see a decrease month over month and year over year, but there are still 2.5 people dying every day, so there is still lots of work to be done,” said Andy Watson, Manager, Strategic Communications, with the B.C. Coroners Service.

The introduction of harm reduction services such as naloxone kits and overdose prevention sites are reasons cited for the decrease.

The B.C. Centre for Disease Control says those measures prevented more than 3,000 possible overdose deaths over a 20-month period

“The study reviewed the period between April 2016, when the public health emergency was declared, and December 2017. It examined the impact of three strategies scaled up across B.C.: the distribution of naloxone in the community through the Take Home Naloxone program, expansion of overdose prevention services and supervised consumption sites, and increased access to treatments for opioid use disorder such as methadone and Suboxone^TM, also known as opioid agonist therapy,” said the Centre’s website.

Men have accounted for 77 per cent of all the deaths this year, and fentanyl was detected in 85 per cent of the fatal cases the last two years.

Click here to read the full report.

by Pete McIntyre

View Comments