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
Supreme Court Victory: A Landmark Decision in the Good Samaritan Law
With reasoning that will have implications nationwide amid an ongoing public health crisis, the Supreme Court of Canada delivered a landmark judgement today, affirming that the Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act must be interpreted to fulfill its life-saving purpose. In a majority decision, the Court recognized the importance of clarity and ruled that the Act must ensure that people who call 9-1-1 during an overdose will not face arrest for simple drug possession. Advocates argue this decision represents a critical victory for public health and evidence-based approaches to the unregulated drug crisis in Canada.
‘No one was getting any better’: When private addiction treatment centres put patients in danger
Emily Bogens’ experience highlights a problem across much of Canada: for-profit, privately owned residential substance use treatment facilities operate with little government regulation or oversight, which critics say puts the lives of patients at risk. An investigation by the fifth estate reveals that provincial governments appear to have limited interest in managing the privately owned recovery sector, where there are no regulations providing specific rules on how they should operate, types of staff or what treatment they offer.
DULF Founders ‘Being Hung out to Dry,’ Says Judge
During the drug trafficking trial of Drug User Liberation Front (DULF) compassion club organizers Eris Nyx and Jeremy Kalicum, BC Supreme Court Justice Catherine Murray said, “The troubling thing about this prosecution is that everyone knew what was happening. It seems like these two are being hung out to dry. As soon as politicians started complaining, all of a sudden VPD — which before was fine — suddenly was not fine.” Arguments in the trafficking trial for providing tested drugs has ended, with a verdict due November 7.
Safe Drugs on Trial: DULF’s Trafficking Case Begins
Almost two years after police raided their compassion club and homes, Drug User Liberation Front co-founders Eris Nyx and Jeremy Kalicum are in court to fight drug trafficking charges. DULF’s lawyers are arguing Nyx and Kalicum were allowed to provide the drugs because they were operating under an exemption under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act that let them test drugs during the toxic drug crisis.
Provincial funding boosts Indigenous-led treatment, recovery
First Nations, Métis, Inuit and urban Indigenous Peoples in B.C. will have access to stronger cultural treatment and recovery services thanks to new funding. The Ministry of Health, together with the Community Action Initiative (CAI) and the First Nations Health Authority, is supporting 15 First Nations, Métis, Inuit and urban Indigenous-led organizations providing bed-based treatment and recovery services with one-time funding of $25,000 each. These grants will support organizations in improving the delivery of treatment and recovery services by helping them invest in program supplies, equipment, technology, staff training, resident resources and other measures that will support long-term service improvements.
‘Reclaiming your Wellness Month’: Reflecting on our relationship with alcohol
The FNHA’s “Sober for October” Wellness Initiative, which has been going strong for eight years with great community participation, has been renamed “Reclaiming your Wellness Month.” We believe this shift in language and updated approach better reflects the original purpose of the initiative, which promotes harm-reduction practices as well as abstinence-based practices for First Nations people in BC who drink alcohol – whether they drink very little or socially, moderately, or more than they would like. You are invited to join us in this initiative!
Research and Education
In-Hospital Drug-Use Study Shows Lived Experience Key to Better Policies
Patients using nonprescribed drugs in the hospital is a common issue, and raises dilemmas. Health care workers have genuine concerns about medical and safety impacts, but also reactions rooted in stigma. A recent study underlined the importance of involving people with lived experience in policy decisions.
The potential use of digital technologies to enhance opioid agonist treatment in rural and remote communities of British Columbia, Canada
People who use drugs (PWUD) and Indigenous-PWUD in rural and remote communities are met with considerable barriers in access to opioid agonist treatments (OAT) in comparison to their urban counterparts. OAT is met with low rates of uptake and retention owing to clinic policies limiting access to take-home doses. Digital technologies may improve access to OAT for PWUD in rural and remote communities. The objective of this study was to understand willingness to use an asynchronous witnessed-dosing phone application among rural and remote PWUD.
Two-Eyed Seeing in Knowledge Synthesis: Weaving together Western scoping review methods with Indigenous storytelling to explore Indigenous approaches to harm reduction
This article explores a practical application of a Two-Eyed Seeing approach in knowledge synthesis as part of Phase I of the First Nation Health Authority’s Indigenizing Harm Reduction Study. The Study aims to develop a First Nations harm reduction framework rooted in community knowledges in response to the disproportionate harms of the toxic drug emergency on First Nations people in British Columbia (BC).
Reclaiming Your Wellness Month: New toolkit for reflection and wellness with alcohol consumption
First Nations Health Authority’s (FNHA) Wellness Team, in partnership with harm reduction and substance use specialists, has developed a short toolkit. Called Walking Side by Side, Our Journey with Alcohol Use, it was designed to support First Nations individuals in reflecting on their relationship with alcohol, wherever they may be on their journey.
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]