Thompson Cariboo region loses 18 lives in August due to illicit drugs

MERRITT — The toxic drug deaths were released for the month of August.

In 2022, 101 lives in the Thompson Cariboo health service delivery area, which includes Merritt, have been lost due to toxic drugs; 18 of those took place in August. It is also the area’s second deadliest year. The Thompson Cariboo has a death rate of 62.1 per 100,000 people, up from 58.3 in July.

Interior Health recorded 34 deaths in July for a year-to-date total of 250.

Provincially, 169 lives were lost due to the toxic drug supply in August for a year-to-date total of 1,468.

B.C. became the first province in Canada to remove criminal penalties for possession of certain hard drugs for personal use.