B.C. sets grim record with 2,511 toxic drug deaths in 2023

The B.C. Coroners Service says there were more than 2,500 suspected illicit drug deaths in the province last year, the highest annual number recorded.

In announcing the grim number, B.C.'s chief coroner Lisa Lapointe renewed her plea for an expansion of safer supply and a "systems change" that treats substance use as a health issue, not a criminal problem.

"More people than ever are dying," said Lapointe in her final public address before retiring next month.

"Each day, coroners across B.C. go into communities and retrieve the bodies of the dead. More than 2,500 families who lost a loved one this year didn't know they'd be among the statistics. How many more will join these statistics next year?"

The 2,511 suspected illicit drug deaths recorded last year equates to an average of nearly seven per day, marking a five per cent increase compared with the previous high of 2,383 deaths recorded in 2022. 

According to the B.C. Coroner Service's 2023 data: 

On social media, B.C. United leader Kevin Falcon said the 2,511 deaths are an indictment of the B.C. NDP's policies, including the "reckless decriminalization" of small amounts of certain illicit drugs.  

Lapointe said Wednesday that "decriminalization is not responsible for these deaths, illicit fentanyl is." 

She said almost 14,000 people have died since the province declared toxic drugs a public health emergency in April 2016. 

An estimated 225,000 people in B.C. use unregulated drugs, according to Lapointe. Of those, 100,000 have an opioid disorder. 

"Given the unpredictability of illicit drugs, each of these 225,000 people is at risk of death," she said.

Instead of "watching people die by the thousands," Lapointe restated her calls for a meaningful continuum of care, including expanded harm reduction services like safer supply in addition to evidence-based accessible treatment and recovery programs.

"What if, instead of continuing to revert to policing and punishing in the guise of public safety, we focused instead on the underlying issues: that people use substances or become dependent on substances because of pain, trauma, physical or mental health challenges," she said.

A recent coroners service death review panel report that recommended providing controlled drugs to people without prescriptions was rejected by B.C.'s mental health and addictions minister this past November.