Langley saw 42 deaths in 2024 from toxic street drugs, a decline from the last four years, but still more than four times the number of lethal overdoses seen a decade ago.
The BC Coroners Service released data Tuesday on deaths linked to toxic street drugs in the last two months of the year, as well as annual totals.
Provincially, 2,253 people died in 2024, which is lower than any year since 2020, but still a far greater death toll than numbers seen around 10 years back, when 370 deaths were seen in 2014, and 529 in 2015.
The massive increase in the death toll, which began in 2016, is largely linked to the presence of the potent opioid in fentanyl, which began entering B.C. in significant quantities that year.
In Langley, the average number of deaths hovered around 10 before the arrival of fentanyl. It quickly shot up, with 31 deaths in 2016.
Once largely imported from Asia, in more recent years production has moved onshore, including at various "super labs" raided by the RCMP. An investigation found one such lab in Langley, and a much larger one found in Falkland, northwest of Vernon, both discovered last fall.
In Langley, the 42 deaths was down from 46 in 2023, 44 in 2022, and 58 in 2021, the worst year for deaths on local streets.
“The information collected by our coroners during their investigations into unregulated drug toxicity deaths, indicates a decline in fatalities over the last several months of 2024," said Dr. Jatinder Baidwan, B.C.'s chief coroner. "This is consistent with reporting from other jurisdictions in Canada and internationally."
"This doesn’t mitigate the fact that 2,253 members of our communities died in 2024, leaving behind grieving loved ones, friends, colleagues and teammates," Badiwan said. "Our thoughts are with all of those many, many people who have been touched by this crisis.”
Minister of Health Josie Osborne also acknowledged the toll of the deaths, despite the downturn that mostly occurred in the last two months of the year.
“Our government is continuing to expand mental-health and addictions care, including early intervention and prevention, harm reduction, treatment and recovery services, support and complex-care housing, and more," Osborne said. "We are building up a seamless system of care so everyone, no matter where they live or what their circumstances, has access to the care they need."
The street drug supply in B.C. continues to contain a mish-mash of chemicals, and those who have died have often taken multiple drugs, whether intentionally or unknowingly.
In 2024, toxicity investigations found fentanyl in 85.1 per cent of all cases. They also found cocaine in 45.1 per cent of cases, methamphetamine in 49.1 per cent, benzodiazepines in 47.1 per cent, other opioids in 18.1 per cent, and alcohol in 18.2 per cent.