For the first time in recent memory, a month went by when no one in the Kootenay-Boundary died from toxic drugs.
According to stats from the BC Coroners Service, May was the third month in a row where there were no deaths in the East Kootenay and the first month since last October that no one died in the West Kootenay-Boundary.
Year-to-date, there have been five deaths in the East Kootenay and 16 in the West Kootenay-Boundary.
Across the province, there were 109 deaths. That is the lowest total since February 2020, when 79 people died.
In the first five months of 2026, people ages 30 to 59 accounted for 68 per cent of deaths related to drug toxicity while 76 per cent were male.
Fluorofentanyl was detected in 67 per cent of the people who died who underwent testing, followed by cocaine (55 per cent), fentanyl (55 per cent), and meth (52 per cent).
