No new drug toxicity deaths in Merritt for October: B.C. Coroner

The number of drug toxicity deaths in the province dropped in October from September; however, there is still cause for alarm, according to the B.C. Coroners Service.

New data released on Wednesday showed that 150 deaths were attributed to illicit drugs in October, down from 163 deaths in September.   The number is also down from October 2024, which also showed 163 deaths across B.C.

In the Merritt region, there were no new fatalities reported due to toxic drug overdoses, with the region still reporting three deaths this calendar year.  Last year (2024), the Merritt area saw five drug toxicity deaths, but nothing compared to 2021 (14 deaths) and 2022 (11 deaths), which coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the B.C. Coroners Service, the number of unregulated drug deaths in October equates to about 4.8 deaths per day.

In 2025, deaths among those between the ages of 30 and 59 accounted for 70% of drug-toxicity deaths in the province, and 77% were male. Forty-eight per cent of deaths reported occurred in a private residence, compared with 21% outdoors.

The data also showed that so far in 2025, the highest number of unregulated drug deaths were in the Fraser and Vancouver Coastal health authorities (448 and 408 deaths, respectively), making up 56% of all such deaths.

Again in October, fentanyl and its analogues continue to be the most common substances detected in “expedited toxicological testing”.

According to the new data: “Decedents who underwent expedited testing in 2025 were found to have fentanyl in their systems (69%), followed by fluorofentanyl (53%), cocaine (53%), and methamphetamine (52%).”

In 2025, the province reported that 1538 people had died from unregulated drugs, down from 2024, when 2315 lives were lost.