Kamloops loses eight more lives due to toxic drugs in October

KAMLOOPS — Eight lives in Kamloops were lost in October due to illicit drugs.

According to the latest preliminary data by the BC Coroners Service, Kamloops has 74 year-to-date total deaths in 2022 due to the toxic drug supply. It’s the fifth highest among B.C. municipalities – behind Vancouver, Surrey, Greater Victoria and Abbotsford.

Kamloops set a yearly record with 77 overdose deaths in 2021. At the 10-month mark of 2022, Kamloops is already experiencing its second deadliest year and is on pace for 89 by year’s end.

In 2022, 121 lives in the Thompson Cariboo health service delivery area have been lost due to toxic drugs; 10 of those took place in October. It is also the area’s second deadliest year. The Thompson Cariboo has a death rate of 59.5 per 100,000 people, down from 60.1 in August.

Interior Health recorded 29 deaths in October for a year-to-date total of 313.

Provincially, 179 lives were lost due to the toxic drug supply in September for a year-to-date total of 1,827.

B.C. became the first province in Canada to remove criminal penalties for possession of certain hard drugs for personal use.