A poll found that most readers of the newspaper story were led to believe that the decedents were well-integrated and healthy persons who were moderate drug users. The story indicated that the direct cause of death in all 29 cases was cocaine use and maintained that the deaths were indicative of a cocaine epidemic in the Province. After an examination of the coroner's files, the authors of this article suggest that, in actuality, most of the decedents were long-term heroin and cocaine addicts living on the fringes of society. In a discussion of the difficulties of attributing deaths to cocaine use, the authors describe overdose, other types of cocaine-caused deaths, blood levels of cocaine, and classification of the deaths in British Columbia. They maintain that those 29 people died chiefly of physical deterioration caused by a deviant lifestyle in which cocaine use was but one factor. Realistic drug policies should be developed from more rational analyses of cocaine-related deaths and other drug-related problems. 2 tables and 48 references (Author abstract modified)