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
BC launches opioid treatment phone line to provide access to same-day care
The BC government is expanding access to drug-addiction treatment by launching a free telephone line for people to get medication and same-day care. The Opioid Treatment Access Line can connect people in need with a team of doctors and nurses seven days a week to prescribe opioid agonist medications. “A lot of people in the beginning, especially people looking for help and support, it’s really hard to walk into a facility,” harm reduction advocate Guy Felicella said. “This way at least they can talk to somebody on the phone.” (August 27, 2024)
I almost died of an overdose. Then I got sober, got married and had three kids. Ask my family if closing supervised consumption sites is a good idea
My last overdose was February 18, 2013 at a safe consumption site (SCS). When I came to, the nurse who saved my life and the staff all became emotional. “I don’t want to do this anymore,” I told them, crying. “I don’t want to die.” It was the staff at that SCS who not only saved my life, but got me into detox the next day. I wouldn’t be alive today without supervised consumption services. (August 26, 2024)
Ontario needs holistic approach to drug treatment amid consumption site closures, doctor says
Dr. Sharon Koivu says a decision by the Ontario government that will shutter 10 supervised drug consumption sites across the province was disappointing — though not a total shock. “I am very concerned about the decision to shut them down [but] I’m not surprised,” said Koivu, an addiction medicine consultant with St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital in an interview with The Current guest host Connie Walker. (August 24, 2024)
Ontario bans drug consumption sites near schools, child-care centres
Ontario has banned supervised drug consumption sites within 200 metres of schools and child-care centres. Ten facilities across the province will be forced to transition into “treatment hubs.” If they do not stop offering safe consumption services by March 2025, they will be forced to close. Ontario Minister of Health Sylvia Jones said the province is investing in new Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hubs. If the old consumption sites choose to apply to become a HART Hub, the province said they will be “prioritized.” “Continuing to enable people to use drugs is not a pathway to treatment,” said Jones, adding her plan would lead to more people choosing treatment. (August 20, 2024)
Media Statement – Government of Ontario Plan Will Lead to More Preventable Drug Poisoning Deaths
Ontario’s new restrictions on supervised consumption services will result in more death during a worsening drug poisoning crisis; dead people cannot enter treatment. Ontario Minister of Health Sylvia Jones announced the province’s plan to impose new restrictions on life-saving consumption and treatment services (CTS), more commonly known as supervised consumption services (SCS), closing the door through which many people access life-saving services and become connected to other treatment and care options. (August 20, 2024)
International Overdose Awareness Day events in BC
International Overdose Awareness Day is held every year on August 31 to remember people who have died, fight stigma, and acknowledge people left behind. Events will be held in many BC communities and across the country.
Reflections on 20 years of harm reduction in British Columbia
In the last 10 years, the harm reduction response has faced dramatic changes in the substance use landscape. These changes include the emergence of fentanyl in the unregulated drug supply, increasing polysubstance use, adulteration of the unregulated supply with sedatives, the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing issues related to colonialism and a worsening housing crisis. At the same time, harm reduction programs have been opposed based on ideological disagreements that are not supported by data. In this current climate, it’s important to look back on the lessons we’ve learned over the years and how harm reduction has previously responded to needs and been shaped by evidence and collaboration. (August 13, 2024)
Advocacy, Education, and Research
CATIE Statement on safer supply
For nearly a decade, Canada has been experiencing a public health crisis of drug toxicity (overdose) deaths driven by the unregulated drug supply. This CATIE statement aims to support service providers and policy-makers by providing evidence-informed recommendations related to the provision of safer supply in Canada.
In case of emergency: Expanding safe supply through supervised consumption services
A new report produced by the HIV Legal Network, How to Innovate in an Emergency, explored legal and policy options to scale up safe supply in this context, addressing barriers identified by research, people who use drugs, legal experts, policymakers and clinicians.
Early prevention programs for children could help end the opioid crisis
Can a program for Grade 7 students help end the opioid crisis? The answer is yes, according to compelling research findings on school-based primary prevention interventions. The program Strengthening Families significantly reduced prescription opioid misuse among young people in Iowa and Pennsylvania, with benefits lasting up to 14 years after the program ended. Yet program benefits do not always translate betweern countries, so Canadian evaluations would be an important component to accompany implementation. Researchers from across Canada are currently assessing whether school-based program PreVenture can avert opioid use with youth in British Columbia, Ontario and Nova Scotia.
How can supervised consumption services and overdose prevention sites better meet the needs of racialized women and gender expansive people?
Certain communities like racialized women and gender expansive people (e.g., transgender, gender nonconforming, non-binary and Two-Spirit people) can encounter barriers to accessing harm reduction services. To find out what is needed to make SCS and OPS more accessible to these communities, CATIE spoke with Cassandra Smith, knowledge translation lead at the Dr. Peter Centre.
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]