Oct 12 - 200+ Islanders killed by toxic drugs

Weekly roundup. Best brunch spots in Victoria. Gunshots heard in Oak Bay.

Good morning !

Happy Thanksgiving long weekend to all of our Capital Daily readers. May your plates be full of delicious food!

We’ll be offline tomorrow, spending time with our loved ones, so there won’t be a Tuesday edition of our newsletter. 

We’ll be back in your inboxes on Wednesday.

Robyn

Today’s approx. read time: 7 minutes

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NEWS

200+ Islanders have been killed by
toxic drugs so far this year

Graph: BC Coroners Service

The BC Coroners Service released its July and August reports on toxic drug deaths, showing 30 Islanders died from illicit drugs in July and 28 died in August. Of these deaths, 11 occurred in Greater Victoria in July and 13 in August.

From January to August, 223 lives were lost on the Island to toxic drugs, with 58 of these occurring in Greater Victoria.

The Central Island had one of the highest rates of toxic drug deaths in the province in July and August. So far this year, the area has lost 104 people to toxic drugs.

In BC, a total of 153 people were killed by the illicit drug supply in July and 149 were killed in August, equating to 4.9 and 4.8 deaths per day, respectively. This is a significant drop from the daily death rate of those months in the last two years: in 2024, the rate in August was 6 deaths per day; in 2023, approximately 5.6 deaths per day occurred.

While this year has seen a downward trend in deaths—it’s on track to be one of the first years to have fewer than 2K deaths since 2020—there has been a concerning rise in youth (under age 19) deaths. In the first eight months of this year, 21 youths died from toxic drugs; last year, 15 youths died during that time.

⚠️ Capital Bulletin

Royal Victoria Marathon today: [Traffic disruptions and CCTV

All GV Public Library branches closed tomorrow for Thanksgiving. [GVPL

Last days to visit Beacon Hill Children’s Farm today and tomorrow before it closes for the season. [BHCF]

Driving today? Check the current traffic situation via Google.

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