A woman sits on the street with a dog while listening during a memorial to remember victims of illicit drug overdose deaths on International Overdose Awareness Day, in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, on Monday, Aug. 31, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
October 24, 2024 - 10:34 AM
VICTORIA - Illicit drug deaths are down slightly in British Columbia from the same period last year, but the coroners service says females are dying at a much higher rate.
The service says in a statement that 26 per cent of the 1,749 toxicity deaths so far this year were women or girls, and the rate of death among females is up 60 per cent from four years ago.
There were 187 overdose deaths in B.C. in August and 183 in September.
The service says the nine-month total is an eight per cent decrease from the same period last year, although it still represents about six people a day dying from unregulated drugs.
Just under half of those who died were between the ages of 30 and 49 years old.
The potent opioid fentanyl remains the primary cause, and was detected in 85 per cent of the drug deaths.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2024.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2024