About four people per day died of a suspected drug overdose in B.C. in the month of January.
That’s according to the latest statistics from the BC Coroners Service, which reported 125 drug-related deaths in the first month of the year.
The grim number represents an improvement from January 2017, when 142 people died, but marks a 25 per cent jump from December 2017, when overdoses claimed 100 lives in B.C.
As in all previous reports, no deaths were recorded at supervised consumption or overdose prevention sites.
Those who died of an overdose were overwhelmingly men (82 per cent), and between the ages of 19-59 years old (94 per cent).
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More than nine out of 10 fatal overdoses happened indoors, with two-thirds happened in a private residence.
Vancouver, Surrey and Victoria continue to have the deadliest record — with each city recording more than 10 deaths.
The report also detailed the increasing presence of fentanyl in the street drug supply. It says in 2017, the powerful narcotic was detected in 83 per cent of fatal overdoses, up from 67 per cent in 2016.
More than 1,400 people lost their lives to a suspected illicit drug overdose in 2017.
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