Illicit Drug Overdose Deaths in BC

January 1, 2007 July 31, 2016

This report summarizes all illicit drug overdose deaths in British Columbia (accidental and
undetermined) that occurred between January 1, 2007 and July 31, 2016, inclusive. It
includes completed cases where the cause of death has been determined by the coroner
and cases still under investigation where the evidence indicates an apparent illicit drug
overdose.
Inclusion Criteria: The illicit drug overdose category includes the following:

Street drugs (heroin, cocaine, MDMA, methamphetamine, etc.)

Medications that were not prescribed to the deceased
Combinations of the above, with prescribed medications
Origin of drug not known

Caveat: The BCCS operates in a live database environment. Some data for more recent
years are based on preliminary circumstances and is subject to change as investigations are
concluded. Data are not directly comparable to published counts from previous years.
Summary

There were 433 apparent illicit drug overdose deaths from January to July 2016. This is a
73.9% increase over the number of death occurring during the same period in 2015 (249)

From January to July 2016, an average of 61.9 apparent illicit drug overdose death occurred
each month

Preliminary data suggest that individuals aged 20-29 and 30-39 have accounted for the
largest percentage of illicit drug overdose deaths in January July 2016 (23.6% and 30.7%,
respectively). Males accounted for 80.4% of apparent illicit drug overdose deaths in January
July 2016

Top three townships where fatal illicit drug overdoses occurred in 2007-2016, were
Vancouver, Surrey, and Victoria

Preliminary data for January 01 May 31, 2016, suggest that the proportion of illicit drug
overdose deaths for which fentanyl was detected (alone or in combination with other drugs)
increased to approximately 62% in 2016. In previous years, the proportion was:
o 2012 = 5%
o 2013 = 15%
o 2014 = 25%
o 2015 = 30%

Ministry of Justice
Office of the Chief Coroner
Metrotower II, Suite 800 4720 Kingsway, Burnaby BC V5H 4N2
Phone: 604 660-7745
Fax: 604 660-7766

August 10, 2016

Page 1 of 5

BC Coroners Service

Illicit Drug Overdose Deaths in BC

January 1, 2007 to July 31, 2016

520
500
480
460
440
420
400
380
360
340
320
300
280
260
240
220
200
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0

16

14

12

10

1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Deaths

64

80

117 162 354 308 217 301 300 400 272 236 236 172 190 183 230 229 202 183 201 211 292 273 331 367 505

Rate

2.0

2.4

3.5

4.7

9.9

8.4

5.7

7.8

7.6 10.0 6.8

5.8

5.8

4.2

4.6

4.4

5.5

5.4

4.7

4.2

4.6

4.7

6.5

6.0

7.2

7.9 10.8

Illicit Drug Overdose Deaths by Month, British Columbia, 2007-2016*

Month
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Subtotal

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016*

15
14
19
24
10
18
11
111

18
8
17
18
18
18
24
121

23
15
10
8
19
16
19
110

16
14
15
9
22
21
23
120

24
24
25
26
21
22
33
175

20
17
25
31
20
25
29
167

20
21
32
31
28
25
37
194

23
39
28
30
41
27
25
213

41
30
30
35
43
35
35
249

80
57
74
64
45
61
52
433

21

16

27

24

22

20

21

36

52

14
15

12
10

16
13

20
18

22
23

17
20

28
19

31
35

44
51

Dec
Total

19
22
202

9
15
183

18
17
201

18
11
211

26
24
292

28
21
273

31
38
331

27
25
367

45
64
505

433

Average

16.8

15.3

16.8

17.6

24.3

22.8

27.6

30.6

42.1

61.9

Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov

* 2016 data include Jan-July

Page 2 of 5

Death Rate per 100,000 Pop.

Deaths

Illicit Drug Overdose Deaths and Death Rate per 100,000 Population

BC Coroners Service

Illicit Drug Overdose Deaths in BC

January 1, 2007 to July 31, 2016

Illicit Drug Overdose Deaths by Region, 2007-2016*

Region
Metro
Fraser
Interior
Island
Northern
Total

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

75
45

60
51

77
49

63
74

93
99

87
90

112
88

129
114

32
36

20
44

33
34

35
24

37
47

31
46

50
59

45
56

14
202

8
183

8
201

15
211

16
292

19
273

22
331

23
367

2015
174

2016*
105

178
62

139
71

61
30

87
31

505

433

* 2016 data include Jan-July

Illicit Drug Overdose Deaths by Month of Death and Region, 2016*

Month
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Total

Metro
21
18
16
14
5
19
12
105

Fraser
24
15
21
23
16
21
19
139

Interior
15
11
14
7
9
8
7
71

Island
14
12
16
15
11
8
11
87

Northern
6
1
7
5
4
5
3
31

Total
80
57
74
64
45
61
52
433

* 2016 data include Jan-July

Illicit Drug Overdose Deaths by Age Group, 2007-2016*

Age Group
10-19
20-29
30-39
40-49
50-59
60-69
70-79
Total

2007
6
32
53
70
36
4
1
202

2008
6
36
48
42
43
8
183

2009
4
44
51
57
33
12
201

2010
7
37
49
66
45
7
211

2011
8
70
74
76
54
10
292

2012
6
60
61
67
59
19
1
273

2013
13
87
78
73
59
21
331

2014
7
80
101
86
69
24
367

2015
11
110
134
118
105
26
1
505

2016*
11
102
133
93
80
12
2
433

* 2016 data include Jan-July

Page 3 of 5

BC Coroners Service

Illicit Drug Overdose Deaths in BC

January 1, 2007 to July 31, 2016

Illicit Drug Overdose Deaths by Gender, 2007-2016*

Gender
Female
Male
Total

2007
47
155
202

2008
49
134
183

2009
55
146
201

2010
49
162
211

2011
81
211
292

2012
77
196
273

2013
79
252
331

2014
83
284
367

2015
100
405
505

2016*
85
348
433

* 2016 data include Jan-July

Illicit Drug Overdose Deaths by Top Townships of Injury, 2007-2016*

Township

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016*

Vancouver
Surrey
Victoria
Burnaby
Kelowna
Abbotsford
Nanaimo
Maple Ridge
Kamloops
Langley
Unknown Township
Other Township
Total

59
22
19
9
6
3
2
5
11
3
63
202

38
20
29
12
2
4
2
2
7
5
62
183

60
23
13
8
5
4
6
6
7
2
67
201

42
32
13
9
9
10
4
4
10
3
75
211

68
42
17
10
14
16
8
4
2
9
102
292

67
44
17
10
8
7
6
5
5
5
99
273

80
36
25
13
12
9
20
10
8
10
108
331

100
44
19
11
12
7
16
14
8
10
126
367

133
72
17
16
20
25
19
27
7
10
2
157
505

78
55
34
13
23
21
19
19
22
17
2
130
433

* 2016 data include Jan-July

Page 4 of 5

BC Coroners Service

Illicit Drug Overdose Deaths in BC

January 1, 2007 to July 31, 2016

BC CORONERS SERVICE REGIONS

Northern Region: Includes the region north, east and west from 100 Mile House to all Provincial
borders, and Haida Gwaii.
Metro Region: Sunshine Coast, Sea to Sky Corridor, North Shore, Vancouver, UBC, Burnaby,
Richmond, and Delta.
Fraser Region: Includes Coquitlam and Surrey to the Coquihalla Highway summit, east to Manning
Park and north to Jackass Mountain bordering Merritt.
Interior Region: Includes the region north to 100 Mile House and Blue River, east to the Alberta
border, south to the USA border and west to the Manning Park gate, including Ashcroft, Lytton
and Lillooet.
Island Region: All of Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands, and Powell River.
Page 5 of 5