(JOHN MCDONALD / iNFOnews.ca)
July 11, 2019 - 9:00 PM
VICTORIA - The latest update for illicit drug deaths in British Columbia shows a downward trend for the first five months of this year.
The BC Coroners Service says 84 people died in May, compared with 116 the year before.
Overall, 462 illicit drug toxicity deaths have been recorded so far this year, down 30 per cent from the same period in 2018.
The coroner says two-thirds of those who died are people aged between 30 and 59, and males account for almost four of five of the deaths.
The powerful opioid carfentanil, a drug experts say is 100 times stronger than fentanyl, was found in one-quarter of the fentanyl-detected deaths.
The coroner says no deaths have been reported at supervised consumption or overdose prevention sites in the province.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2019