Substance Use News provides a monthly collection of news and resources on the social, medical and political responses to the toxic drug supply crisis and harm reduction. To get the latest toxic drug safety alerts, visit Info for People Who Use Substances page from Toward the Heart. Subscribe to our newsletter for information weekly- scroll to the bottom of the page to sign up. You can also visit our Substance Use and Harm Reduction page for more resources.
In the News
126 children and youth died of toxic drugs in 5 years: B.C. coroner
The B.C. Coroners Service has found that 126 children and youth younger than 19 died due to toxic drugs between 2019 and 2023. The numbers, released in a Tuesday report, showed that unregulated drug toxicity was the most common cause of unnatural death among youth during that time period. (May 28, 2024)
Deaths of Inmates in Correctional Facilities, 2013-2023
A new report from the BC Coroners Service shows that unregulated drug toxicity deaths accounted for 71% (12 deaths) of all accidental deaths during this period. (Data is available for completed investigations or inquests only.) (May 23, 2024)
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow calls drug-decriminalization debate a diversion
In an interview with the Globe and Mail, Toronto May Olivia Chow said the provincial and federal governments should “stop debating” the decriminalization issue. She called it a “diversion” from the need to increase funding for what is known as supportive housing – special units for homeless people with drug and mental health treatment available – and for vastly expanded addiction-treatment programs, both of which currently have long waitlists. (May 13, 2024)
Making Sense of Eby’s Step Back on Decriminalization
Harm reduction seeks to mute the negative impact of substance use disorders on individuals and society. Decriminalization is supposed to reduce the stigma experienced by drug users and make it easier for them to seek treatment. The increase in public drug use may be related to the sharp rise in homelessness, changes in the drug supply, or both. It doesn’t matter. Decriminalization is taking the blame. (May 9, 2024)
BC drug user advocates warn decriminalization change may cause more drug deaths
Health Canada’s decision to allow British Columbia to again prohibit the use of illicit drugs in most public spaces will cause more deaths, the executive director of the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users says. Graham said the insinuation that public drug use had increased was incorrect and pointed to a March news conference where Vancouver police Insp. Phil Heard said his department had “seen a decrease in public complaints around public consumption.” (May 8, 2024)
What Now for BC’s Decriminalization Test?
BC’s drug decriminalization pilot is in tatters after concerns about drug use in hospitals and restaurants led Premier David Eby to ask Health Canada to make public drug use illegal again. If Health Canada agrees to Eby’s request, where does that leave drug users? “If you’re an unhoused drug user and you live in a community that doesn’t have a supervised consumption site or an overdose prevention site, which is the case in the vast majority of communities in BC, your existence is effectively criminalized,” said Caitlin Shane, a lawyer with Pivot Legal Society. (May 3, 2024)
Federal addictions minister says BC public decriminalization reversal under review
The federal minister for addictions and mental health says it’s too early to draw conclusions about drug decriminalization after British Columbia asked Ottawa to scale back its pilot to help curb concerns over public drug use. Ya’ara Saks noted Monday that the province is only a year into its three-year pilot project, which began in early 2023. On Friday April 26, 2024, BC Premier David Eby asked Health Canada to amend that exemption order to recriminalize the use of those drugs in public spaces such as hospitals and restaurants. “Illicit drugs and hard drugs should not be used where kids are playing where patients are recovering where a community life is lived,” said Eby. (April 29, 2024)
Advocacy, Education, and Research
How do people with substance use disorder conceive of recovery?
Professor Wendy Dossett has spent a lot of time listening to people talk about addiction and recovery, particularly in the context of the concept of a “higher power,” a cornerstone of 12-step recovery. What is that “higher power”? In an interview, Dossett says “For the writers of the 12 steps, it certainly seemed like it was the God of Christianity. For the people that I interviewed, that was true for some of them but for a lot of people their higher power was the strength of the friendships that they built in those 12-step communities. It was the power of example, of other people who were living a day at a time and a sober life, not picking up a drink or a drug or a particular behaviour.” (May 21, 2024)
System predicts who’s at risk of quitting opioid treatment
In a study published in the journal Computers in Biology and Medicine, Md Mahmudul Hasan, and his research team found that roughly 15% of patients did not complete the clinically recommended yearlong buprenorphine treatment, while about 46% of patients stopped treatment within the first three months. With the help of artificial intelligence (AI), the team also identified high-risk patients and several factors associated with treatment discontinuation. (May 20, 2024)
Suicidal thoughts and behaviors among untreated illicit substance users: a population-based study
This study examined the prevalence and factors associated with suicidal thoughts and behaviors among a population-based sample of people who use illicit substances. Participants had been using drugs for at least one year and who had received no treatment for their drug use during the past year. (May 16, 2024)
Campaign resources for International Overdose Awareness Day
While every individual action matters greatly, coming together as an international community creates a powerful collective action. The International Overdose Day (IOAD) 2024 theme, “Together we can” will highlight the strength of coming together and standing in support of those connected to the tragedy of overdose. Get your IOAD campaign resources now.
Driving Actionable Drug Policy Research: The At-Risk Youth Study team
Since 2005, the At-Risk Youth Study (ARYS – pronounced ‘Arise’) at the BC Centre on Substance Use has aimed to address these gaps by providing information necessary to evaluate current programs and services. Armed with evidence based on young people’s lived experiences with substance use, the goal is to inform drug policy that will improve the health and well-being of this high-risk and traditionally under-served group.
Visit the BC Centre for Disease Control’s Unregulated Drug Poisoning Emergency Dashboard for provincial data from different sources.
Visit the BC Centre on Substance Use for information on evidence-based approaches to substance use care and harm reduction.
Visit the National Safer Supply Community of Practice (NSS-CoP), whose goal is to scale up safer supply programs across Canada.
Visit the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research site for research on aclohol and substance use.
Questions? Feedback? Get in touch. Janet Madsen, Capacity Building and Digital Communications Coordinator, [email protected]
Focus image by Andrew, Flickr (Creative Commons)