Toxic drug deaths appear to be falling in B.C.—and no one is sure why

published on February 25, 2025 by Penny Daflos in CTV News

Frontline workers, drug users and experts alike are unsure why the number of reported deaths from toxic drugs appears to be decreasing in British Columbia, since the same trend is also taking place in jurisdictions with very different policies.

Early this month, the BC Coroners Service announced that toxic drug deaths for 2024 were 13 per cent lower than they were the year before. The agency does not provide analysis or theories as to why that is, but did point out that other jurisdictions, including Alberta, Ontario, and the United States are seeing similar year-over-year patterns.

The BC Centre for Substance Use is currently studying the trend, as are other researchers.

“I would caution anybody listening to people who say that they have very firm conclusions about why we’re seeing this,” said Kora DeBeck, a research scientist with the BCCSU and professor in the School of Public Policy at Simon Fraser University. “It’s very small in scope and it’s too early to know what is really driving it at this point.”…