New numbers from the BC Coroners Service continue to highlight the deadly effects of the province's opioid crisis.
The Coroner says in the first 8 months of this year, more people died from illicit drug overdoses than all of last year.
Province-wide there have been 1,013 overdose deaths with fentanyl detected in more than 80% of the cases - that's up from 67% in 2016.
In Kelowna, there have been 60 overdose deaths between Januaru and August 31 - up from 47 in all of last year - while in Vernon, the numbers have increased from 12 in 2016 to 16 so far this year.
Chief Coroner Lisa Lapointe says people need to know that no illicit substance in the province can be considered safe.