By Mata Press Service

British Columbia is turning to a new mix of laboratory robotics, chemical fingerprinting and artificial intelligence as it searches for better ways to respond to a toxic-drug crisis that has killed thousands and exposed the limits of existing warning systems.
The move comes as the toxic-drug crisis continues to exact a devastating toll across the province. According to government data, 528 people died in 2015 when fentanyl began to spread through the unregulated drug supply. Deaths later climbed to 2,590 in 2023 before slipping to 1,833 in 2025, still nearly three-and-a-half times the 2015 figure.
The data shows First Nations people were dying at 5.4 times the rate of other B.C. residents in the first half of 2025, while at least 20 per cent of those killed by unregulated drugs over the past four years worked in trades, transport and equipment operations.
Last week, the B.C. Government launched a pilot called Track and Trace, a two-year initiative led by Aidos Innovations, a non-profit translational science institute and developed by the University of British Columbia, with support from law enforcement and health partners.
“The illicit drug supply is changing faster than our warning systems,” Public Safety and Solicitor General Minister Nina Krieger said in the material. “Track and Trace is an innovative technology that will allow early detection of emerging drug threats, provide clear insights into supply changes and risks, and improve co-ordination across jurisdictions in B.C.”
At the centre of this pilot program is Vancouver-based Redwood AI, whose technology will help turn raw chemical testing into usable intelligence for police, border officials and health agencies trying to keep pace with a drug supply that changes from week to week.
Under a two-year collaboration with Aidos, Redwood is helping build the analytical platform behind Track and Trace. The system is designed to combine chemical data, pattern recognition and predictive tools into dashboards and reports that participating agencies can use to spot changes in opioid activity earlier and respond faster.
In practical terms, it is meant to help authorities see not just what substances are showing up in seized drugs, but where those substances may be moving, how they may be linked, and where the next risks could emerge.
That matters because one of the biggest weaknesses in the current response is fragmentation. Fentanyl and other toxic substances are still tracked in a piecemeal way across different agencies, making it difficult to build a provincewide picture of how the illicit supply is evolving. The Track and Trace pilot is intended to close some of those gaps by converting isolated samples into shared intelligence that can support both enforcement and public health action.
The program is built around two connected functions.
The first, known as Track, uses lab robotics to analyze drugs seized by police and identify their chemical signatures. Those signatures are then uploaded into a secure system where artificial intelligence can compare samples across locations and time periods. That gives investigators and health officials a better chance of identifying dangerous shifts in the street supply earlier, including the appearance of new contaminants or changing potency patterns.
The second, known as Trace, is designed to go further by using isotope-based molecular markers, described as chemical license plates, to help trace the source and diversion of substances and precursor chemicals. The goal is to help distinguish between legitimate and illicit pathways and, over time, strengthen efforts to link drugs from different communities to common production or supply sources.
Together, those two functions are meant to support a broader predictive capability. Instead of reacting only after overdose deaths spike or a bad batch is already circulating, authorities hope the platform will help flag emerging threats sooner and allow front-line services to prepare their response earlier. That could mean sharper intelligence for police, faster warnings for health workers, and better visibility into the patterns driving harm across the province.
Redwood chief executive officer Louis Dron said the value of the system lies in building artificial intelligence around the needs of the people expected to use it.
“Artificial intelligence is most impactful when developed alongside users with deep domain knowledge,” Dron said. “By developing this tool alongside law enforcement, chemists and health professionals, we can ensure highly relevant, actionable insights.”
Dron said Redwood’s role is to help public safety and health leaders move from scattered data to earlier and more practical intervention.
“Redwood was founded on the belief that advanced AI should be applied to problems that matter most to people’s lives,” he said.
“By combining our predictive technologies with Aidos’ deep understanding of substance use disorder and the lived realities of the opioid crisis, we aim to give public safety leaders and organizations, including law enforcement and border agencies, as well as health partners, better tools to prevent deaths, disrupt toxic supply chains, and support communities most affected.”
Health Minister Josie Osborne said the technology could support more informed responses by helping officials identify harmful compounds and map how they move through communities.
“B.C. continues to face a toxic-drug crisis that puts lives at risk due to increasingly dangerous substances in the unregulated drug supply,” Osborne said. “Through this innovative Track and Trace technology, drugs can be quickly analyzed to identify harmful compounds and map how they move through communities. This approach supports informed health responses, helping to reduce harm and save lives.”
The expected outcomes of the pilot include an operational AI-supported dashboard, a large sample library to support predictive analysis, identification of isotope-based markers and geographic mapping to show emerging production patterns and movement over time.

B.C. Toxic Drug Crisis
by the Numbers
10 years since emergency declared
2,578 deaths in 2023
2,253 deaths in 2024
1,826 deaths in 2025
265 deaths in Jan.-Feb. 2026
5.4x higher First Nations death rate in first half of 2025
85%+ of 2023 toxicology tests detected fentanyl