Data recently released by the Chief Medical Examiner shows that cocaine has been involved in more than half of the deaths related to substance use in Newfoundland and Labrador over the last two years.
From 2018 to 2022, between 11 and 18 people died in cases involving the use of cocaine each year. The worst year was 2018, when nearly 39 per cent of all deaths were cocaine-related.
However, the numbers started to rise again in 2023, when 36 out of 77 substance-use deaths were linked to cocaine. That’s about 47 per cent of the total number of people who lost their lives.
Substance-related deaths involving cocaine, fentanyl and/or alcohol since 2018 (Office of the Chief Medical Examiner)
In 2024 the numbers rose again, with about 49 per cent of deaths related to cocaine.
Last year, more than half of all deaths (at 55 per cent) were linked to the white powder. So far this year, that number is 56 per cent.
By comparison, in 2024, a year in which fentanyl-related deaths spiked in the province, the number of cases linked to that substance was nearly 23 per cent of the total number of lives lost.
Total substance-related fatalities from 2018-2026 (Office of the Chief Medical Examiner)
