Record drug deaths in Vernon and provincially in 2023

Jan 24, 2024 | 1:32 PM

Vernon and B.C. had record high death totals linked to illicit substances in 2023.

The B.C. Coroner’s Service reported 51 overdose deaths in Vernon, and 2,511 across all of B.C.

The deaths in Vernon were higher than the previous record of 44 in 2022 and 2021, and B.C.’s total surpassed the previous record of 2,303 in 2021.

The deaths in Vernon included 12 recorded in November and December, though the Coroner’s Service did not provide breakdowns for each month. There were 472 deaths throughout the province during the months in question, but again those were not separated into the total for each month.

Kelowna also had a record high death toll with 101 in all of 2023, surpassing the previous record of 84 in 2022.

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Kelowna had 20 deaths in the final two months of 2023, while 13 were recorded in Kamloops.

Kamloops saw drug deaths decline from 92 in 2022 to 80 in 2023.

The data from the Coroner’s Service shows that 77 per cent of people who died due to toxic drugs in 2023 were male, and that 75 per cent were between the ages of 30 and 59.

“Eighty per cent of the deaths occurred indoors, in private (47.1 per cent) and other residences (28.8 per cent), and 19 per cent occurred outdoors including in vehicles. Smoking was the most common form of consumption amongst those who died, with 65 per cent showing evidence of smoking. Only 14 per cent of deaths showed evidence of injection,” Lisa LaPointe, B.C.’s chief coroner, said.

“The number of deaths of those under 18 remained, fortunately, comparatively low in comparison with all other age groups. Nonetheless, in 2023, 27 children and youth died of drug toxicity, just over one per cent of deaths province-wide.”

Illicit fentanyl continued to be the main driver in overdose deaths in 2023.

“From 2017 to 2023, illicit fentanyl was present in 86 per cent of drug toxicity deaths annually. This is consistent with reporting across the country where data for the first six months of 2023 shows that 84 per cent of accidental apparent opioid toxicity deaths involved fentanyl,” Lapointe noted.

“Illicit stimulants are also regularly detected in post-mortem testing for presumed drug fatalities. Last year, cocaine was present in just over 38 per cent of drug toxicity deaths in B.C. Amphetamines or methamphetamines were present in almost 47 per cent of deaths. And increasingly we’re seeing benzodiazepines in toxic drug fatalities, benzodiazepines were present in 40 per cent of drug toxicity deaths in B.C. in 2023.”

Toxicology reports from the deaths showed no indication of prescribed safer supply contributing to overdose deaths.

by Liam Verster

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