The Princeton area lost three residents to unregulated drug deaths in 2023, according to the BC Coroners Service.
The deaths occurred withing the Local Health Area, which includes Coalmont and Tulameen.
Princeton experienced six overdose deaths in 2017, marking the community as one of the most deadly that year, based on population.
There were five the following year, and just one in 2022.
Princeton Mayor Spencer Coyne, who sits on several health-related committees, expressed regret with the most recent report.
“Although our numbers have decreased over years in the past, it is still disheartening that we are seeing losses to overdose in the community,” he told the Spotlight.
Addiction and mental health are routinely addressed by concerned groups, he added.
“They are not always one in the same, but they are very much at the top of our discussions.”
Last year, Interior Health increased its support to the Princeton area, adding a nurse prescriber, one casual counsellor, an outreach/case manager and a substance use/rural outreach worker to its local staff.
The health authority also installed a free vending machine outside the emergency room doors at Princeton General Hospital.
The machine is stocked with harm reduction and health supplies.
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