No local deaths to report as the province releases new drug toxicity death numbers

While the provincial drug toxicity numbers released by the British Columbia Coroner Service (BCCS) continues to rise, the Nicola Valley region remains unscathed with zero fatalities in 2025.

According to preliminary data, 145 people in May and 147 people in June died due to unregulated drug toxicity, both numbers down considerably from 2024. In May of 2024 there were 195 deaths while in June there were 201.

In total, the province has seen a considerable drop in death over the first six months of 2025 with 915 compared to 1227 for the first six months of 2024.

The report also shows that the number of unregulated deaths in the province in May and June equates to 4.7 (May) and 4.9 (June) deaths per day.

In Merritt  and area, there were six deaths in both 2023 and 2024 due to toxic drugs in the region.

The Coroners report also indicated that  in 2025, 69 percent of those dying were between the ages of  30 and 59 and 78 percent were male.

Fentanyl continues to be the most common substance detected in the toxicological testing. Decedents who underwent expedited testing in 2025 were found to have fentanyl in their systems (70%), followed by methamphetamine (52%) and cocaine (51%).

The number of deaths where carfentanil was detected has increased in recent months.