The Northern Interior, which includes Quesnel, has by far the highest rate of toxic drug deaths in the province.
The BC Coroners Service released its report today (Tuesday) and it shows that there were 44 illicit drug deaths in the Northern Interior Health Service Delivery area through March of this year.
That works out to 111.7 people per 100,000.
The Northern Vancouver Island region is next at just 78.8 per 100,000 people.
The Thompson/Cariboo/Shuswap Health Service Delivery Area, which includes 100 Mile House and Williams Lake, has a death rate of 58.1 people per 100,000.
That ranks 5th worst out of 16.
The BC Coroners Service reported 192 suspected overdoses in the province in the month of March.
That works out to more than 6 people per day.
Despite the grim numbers though, it represented an 11 percent decrease in the number of people dying on a year-over-year basis.
The Coroners Service noted the death rate among females has spiked dramatically over the past 12 months.
In 2024, the death rate in BC is almost double from what it was in 2020.
It currently stands at 23 deaths per 100,000 and it was just 13 per 100,000 four years earlier.
The 40-49 age group has the highest unregulated drug death rate in the province (82.3), followed by those aged 50-59 (69.3)
Unregulated drug toxicity is now the leading cause of death in British Columbia for people aged 10-59, accounting for more deaths than homicides, suicides, accidents and natural disease combined.
Since the public-health emergency was first declared in April of 2016, at least 14,500 people in the province have lost their lives to toxic drugs.
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