No drug toxicity deaths in Merritt for 2026 first quarter

The B.C. Coroner’s Office reporting that there were no drug toxicity deaths in the City of Merritt for March 2026, marking the third consecutive month of no fatalities.

The province’s numbers however, not as lucky as 135 people died of suspected unregulated drug poisoning in March, up from 115 the month in February. The number brings the total of deaths due to drugs for 2026 in the province at 401, down considerable from the first quarter of 2025, when 435 lives were lost.

The number of male deaths compared to female deaths is overwhelming. The province reports that of the 401 deaths in the province so far in 2026, 312 were male. The largest age group affected by drug toxicity deaths in B.C. is the 40-49 group at 104.

In the Merritt area, there were six deaths reported in 2025, one more than 2024 (5).

The worst year on record in Merritt  since the province declared the public health emergency ten years ago, was 2021 when 14 deaths were reported at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.