4 people died in Whitehorse last month because of toxic drug use

Four people died in Whitehorse in October after consuming toxic illicit drugs, the territory's chief coroner said on Thursday.

In a news release, chief coroner Heather Jones said the four deaths all involved cocaine and fentanyl. Three of them involved fluorofentanyl, an analog of fentanyl.

"[Fluorofentanyl] has been found in toxicology reports more frequently in fatalities in British Columbia in late 2022 and throughout 2023. We are now seeing fluorofentanyl-caused or -related deaths occurring in the Yukon," the release reads.

The four people who died in October were between the ages of 24 and 52.

"All young people who have left the now too common gaps in our communities and in our families," the coroner's release states.

As of Nov. 1, there had been 18 substance use-related deaths this year in the Yukon. Sixteen of them involved opioids, and all but one of the deceased people had fentanyl in their systems, the coroner said.

The territory declared a substance use emergency in early 2022.