Interior children and youth account for 24 toxic drug deaths over past five years

The B.C. Coroner’s Service said 24 children and youth from the Interior lost their lives to toxic drugs over a five year span.

The worst year for the Interior was 2021, when there were eight toxic drug youth and child deaths recorded in the region, followed by seven deaths in 2023, and five in 2022.

The deaths, recorded between 2019 and 2023, were among the 126 young British Columbians between the ages of zero and 18 to die due to toxic substances during that period.

The Coroners Service data from that period showed there were 11 toxic drug deaths in children under the age of 14, 40 kids aged 14 to 16 who died from overdose, and 75 toxic drug deaths where the victims were 17 or 18 years old.

The Fraser Health Authority had the highest concentration of child and youth toxic drug deaths at 40 over those five years, followed by Island Health with 35, and Interior Health with 24.

Fentanyl and its analogues were found in 83 per cent of the deaths during the five year period, with the Coroners Service noting 73 per cent of overdose deaths occurred in private residences.

There were 16 cases where hydromorphone was present in a youth’s toxicology report. However, in all those cases other substances were also found in their systems, including 12 cases where the victim had taken fentanyl, a fentanyl analogue, or a stimulant.

Tests showed the remaining four individuals who had hydromorphone in their systems but had not consumed fentanyl or stimulants had taken either alcohol, benzodiazapines, or another opioid before their death.

The child and youth deaths reflect roughly 1.3 per cent of the 10,005 unregulated drug toxicity deaths recorded throughout the province during that five-year period.

Stats from the B.C. Coroners Service showed the highest contributors to that total were adults aged 30 to 39, accounting for 2,428 deaths, followed by 2,377 deaths of individuals aged 40 to 59.

The Coroners Service added that 66 per cent of the youth who died from unregulated toxic drugs had received some form of services from the Ministry of Children and Family Development, and that 67 per cent of the youth who died had a mental health diagnosis or anecdotal evidence of a mental health disorder.