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. Get weekly substance use news by subscribing to our newsletter: 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
Moving from Grief to Action with Hope to Make a Difference
Webinar on October 19: Join Moms Stop the Harm for a virtual event of inspiring conversation with MSTH member Irene Reilly, author of “OHANA, Love, Grief and Hope in the Time of the Opioid Crisis”. A journey of transformation from personal loss to powerful advocacy.
Considerations for Treating Pregnant People with Alcohol Use Disorder
Webinar on October 23: The BC ECHO on Substance Use is a provincial community of practice that aims to build capacity within primary care to treat and manage substance use disorders (SUDs) through monthly Project ECHO sessions. By the end of this BC ECHO on Substance Use webinar, participants will be able to:
1) understand key care principles for this population,
2) describe the comparative advantages and disadvantages of available AUD treatment options in pregnancy,
3) identify factors that would require referral to specialist services, and
4) discuss considerations for peri-partum and post-partum care planning for parent-infant dyad
What is involuntary care? And how does it work in BC?
Involuntary care was put in the spotlight last fall during the provincial election campaign when Premier David Eby announced plans to expand that type of care for people with addiction. In March, the province’s recently-appointed chief scientific adviser for psychiatry shared guidance for clinicians who may be making decisions about involuntary care for adults in BC with substance-use disorder. What is involuntary care? And how does it work?
‘Anything goes’ attitude leads to downtown decay
Julian Daly, CEO of Our Place, the agency most directly involved in the drug-infused mental-health crisis most obvious on Pandora Avenue in Victoria, told municipal leaders at the Union of BC Municipalities convention that the balance between compassion and enforcing expectations has been lost. An all-encompassing strategy of housing, treatment, recovery and enforcement is needed. He said involuntary care is controversial, but has to be part of the solution. Leaving someone to die on the sidewalk — with their liberty intact — “is not compassion, it’s abandonment.”
It’s Not So Simple: The impact of simple drug possession and trafficking offences on health equity
This report from HIV Legal Network features firsthand accounts of what is happening in our communities and makes clear that the everyday practices of people who use drugs are often captured as trafficking, especially for those with precarious access to housing. This means that, despite legal and policy changes meant to reduce the harms of drug prohibition, people who use drugs continue to experience constant surveillance, negative law enforcement interactions, and unwanted involvement in the criminal legal system.
Expanded substance-use supports available for youth in BC
More female, female-identifying and non-binary youth living with substance-use challenges can access expanded support through 12 new treatment beds in Surrey. Healing House – q’ay’tl’et ew’xw – the 12-bed treatment centre, will provide live-in care for female, female-identifying and non-binary youth age 17 to 24. Stays can be as long as 90 days. Healing House will accommodate youth from throughout the province who are experiencing severe and/or high-risk substance-use challenges, often alongside moderate mental-health needs.
Research and Education
‘I won’t make it without this program’: the impact of safer opioid supply program closures in Ontario
In August 2024, Ontario’s provincial government introduced restrictions on harm reduction initiatives, coinciding with the expiration of federal funding, forcing many programs to close. In their place, the government announced the implementation of Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment Hubs, which exclude harm reduction programs, including SOS programs. This study explores the experiences of SOS program clients and the anticipated impacts of these program closures on their lives.
Recent Trends in Opioid-Related Toxicity Deaths in Canada: Examining a Potential Decrease
The most recent data released by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) in June 2025 indicate that apparent opioid toxicity deaths have decreased nationally by 17% from January to December 2024, compared to the same period in 2023. However, in all regions across Canada, the overall number of deaths remains very high, differences in death rates exist among communities, and some provinces and territories are seeing consistent increases or renewed increases following a period of decline.
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]