More than 275 people in New Westminster have died of unregulated drug deaths in the past decade – including 20 between January and August 2024.
The BC Coroners Services latest report shows that more than 1,700 lives have been lost to drug toxicity in B.C. in first nine months of 2024. That includes 187 deaths in August and 183 in September.
The Oct. 24 report stated that preliminary data finds that at least 1,749 people died from unregulated drug toxicity in communities throughout the province between January and September 2024. That represents an eight per cent decrease from the 1,896 deaths that occurred in the first nine months of 2023.
The preliminary report showed that 20 people in New Westminster died in the first nine months of 2023 – up from the 17 that were reported between January and July.
The report indicates there have been 283 deaths due to toxic drugs in New West since 2014. In addition to the 20 deaths reported this year, there were 38 deaths in 2023, 32 in 2022, 47 in 2021, 36 in 2020, 20 in 2019, 35 in 2018, 24 in 2017, 10 in 2016, 12 in 2015 and nine in 2014.
In March 2021, city council approved a temporary use permit that allowed the Lower Mainland Purpose Society to operate a health contact centre at 40 Begbie St. in downtown New Westminster. The centre, which opened April 7, 2021, provides services such as witnessed consumption, drug testing, access to supplies and information about safer drug use, and referrals to treatment centres and health services.
According to the BC Coroners Service, approximately six people in B.C. died each day from suspected unregulated drugs in both August and September.
Here are some additional findings from the latest report:
- 48 per cent of unregulated drug deaths in September were people between the ages of 30 and 49, while 1.1 per cent were 18 years of age and below.
- 77 per cent of unregulated drug deaths in September were males, up from the year-to-date figure of 74 per cent in 2024.
- 26 per cent of deaths related to unregulated drug toxicity were females in 2024. The rate of death among females is 21 per 100,000 people, an increase of 60 per cent from 2020 (13 per 100,000).
- Vancouver (45), Surrey (19) and Greater Victoria (16) had the highest number of unregulated drug toxicity deaths in September.
- While the health authorities of Vancouver Coastal and Interior Health had the highest number of unregulated drug deaths in September with 50 in each region, Interior (5.6) and Northern Health (4.3) had the highest rates of unregulated drug deaths per 100,000 people.
- Fentanyl was detected in 85 per cent and stimulants in 81 per cent of unregulated drug deaths in September 2024 that underwent expedited toxicological testing.
