No new deaths in Merritt last month due to toxic drugs: B.C. Coroners Service

(Image credit: CFJC Today/File photo)

Jun 19, 2023 | 1:15 PM Vern Strecheniuk

MERRITT – No new deaths in Merritt, due to the toxic drug supply, during the month of May as the province jumps up nearly 200.

New figures released Monday (June 19) by the B.C. Coroners Service show Merritt remained at four people dead through the first five months of 2023.

Throughout Interior Health, officials stated another 31 people died during the month of May, with 11 being from the Thompson Cariboo Shuswap region.

Overall, B.C. saw 176 deaths in May due to illicit drugs, pushing the year-to-date total over 1,000, to 1,018.

Chief Coroner Lisa Lapointe says fentanyl is doing the majority of the damage in B.C.

“BC Coroners Service findings confirm that this public-health emergency continues to be driven by illicit fentanyl,” said Lapointe in a news release. “Expedited testing in 2023 is positive for fentanyl in almost nine out of every 10 results, nearly double the positivity rate of methamphetamine and cocaine, the next most commonly identified substances. As long as people are reliant on the profit-driven unregulated market to access the substances they need, their lives are at risk.”

The figures show about 77 per cent of all drug deaths so far in 2023 have taken place inside private residences.

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