Drug deaths in B.C. are dropping. Here are some of the theories why

published on January 1, 2025 by Glenda Luymes in Times Colonist

Deaths related to drug overdoses have declined nine per cent in B.C. over the past year. But experts says it’s unclear whether the falling numbers signal a trend, or simply a dip, while the reason behind the decline is also unknown.

Data released by the B.C. Coroners Service this month show 1,925 people died in drug overdoses in the first 10 months of 2024, a nine per cent reduction over the same period last year, and there were fewer fatal drug overdoses in October than in any other month in the past four years.

B.C. isn’t the only place seeing a decline. Drug deaths across Canada fell eight per cent between January and March of this year, while deaths in the U.S. fell 17 per cent over a one-year period ending in July 2024, the largest recorded reduction in overdose deaths in the country’s history, according to the White House.

The declines across multiple jurisdictions point to the possibility that what B.C. is seeing is part of a larger downward trend, unlike previous drops, which weren’t sustained, said Dr. Alexis Crabtree, a public health physician with the B.C. Centre for Disease Control…