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In the News
On the Anniversary of Decriminalization, Coalition Releases Vision for BC Drug Policy
Frustrated by insufficient responses to escalating toxic drug deaths, on January 31, a coalition of civil society organizations and people who use drugs unveiled a comprehensive policy platform aimed at ending the unregulated drug crisis and fostering healthy communities. Released on the one-year anniversary of the launch of British Columbia’s decriminalization pilot, To End a Crisis: Vision for BC Drug Policy outlines a roadmap for transforming the province’s drug policies. (January 31, 2024)
FNHA reflects on one year into decriminalization legislation in British Columbia
By emphasizing that substance use is a health concern and not a criminal issue, decriminalization legislation is meant to support people who use substances by reducing the barriers and stigma that prevent people from accessing life-saving supports. First Nations people remain disproportionately impacted by the province-wide public health toxic drug emergency. The First Nations Health Authority recognizes decriminalization is an important and necessary step toward removing stigma and humanizing people who use substances and addresses some of the harms that affect them. Because there are different ways to respond to decriminalization, FNHA acknowledges and supports the self-determination of each First Nations community when considering implementing this exemption. (January 31, 2024)
Retiring Chief Coroner Lisa Lapointe on Staring Death in the Face
After 13 years in the role, B.C.’s Chief Coroner Lisa Lapointe is retiring. Her final day in office is Feb. 18, marking 30 years in public service. While it might seem like a bleak job, Lapointe says she’s held on to the understanding that every death provides an opportunity to advance meaningful change. To understand how Lapointe has held on to that glimmer of hope, The Tyee sat down with her to discuss the role of stigma in the toxic unregulated drug overdose crisis, the need for nuance in public messaging, how she’d like to change the treatment industry and why she’s not mad, just disappointed, with the politicization of drug use. (January 31, 2024)
Doctor says not enough supports in Hope, where toxic drugs kill at highest rate in BC
A doctor at the only addictions clinic in Hope, with a population of about 6,700, said the town is seeing more people killed by toxic drugs per capita than anywhere else in BC, due to a dearth of treatment, support and reliable transportation. Last year the community experienced nearly triple the rate of deaths per 100,000 people and about 50 per cent greater than the rate in Vancouver. Dr. Aseem Grover, medical director at Fraser Canyon Hospital, says the grim news reflects the “precarious situation” he sees in Hope and many smaller communities he serves in the area. (January 28, 2024)
Premier Eby underscores ‘fundamental’ disagreement with BC chief coroner on safe supply
BC Premier David Eby has rebuffed the province’s retiring chief coroner’s swansong pleas for non-prescription safe supply of drugs, calling it a “fundamental issue” of disagreement on how to curb the toxic drug crisis. Lapointe had said that asking doctors to prescribe a safer supply of drugs would not address the crisis that has claimed almost 14,000 lives since the province declared a public health emergency in April 2016, noting that only about 5,000 people had access to prescribed safer supply. (January 26, 2024)
BC asks appeal court to reconsider decision allowing drug consumption in public spaces
BC’s attorney general is appealing a court decision that put the brakes on the province’s plans to crack down on drug use in public spaces. BC Supreme Court Chief Justice Christopher Hinkson issued an injunction staying the implementation of the Restricting Public Consumption of Illegal Services Act after an application from the Harm Reduction Nurses Association — a national advocacy group. In a notice of appeal filed Monday, the province cited five possible grounds for appeal — claiming Hinkson’s order was too broad and his conclusions were “not firmly grounded on the evidence that was before him.” (January 25, 2024)
Record expansion of treatment options will support more people with addictions
BC Government News, Mental Health and Addictions: More people with addiction challenges can now access treatment and recovery options free of charge and closer to home with the addition of 180 publicly funded treatment and recovery beds throughout the province. “People need to be able to access treatment and recovery services close to where they live, without worrying about how to pay for it,” said Premier David Eby. “This expansion nearly doubles the number of publicly funded treatment and recovery beds that we committed to, so people get the care and treatment they need, no matter how many times it takes.” Nearly 100 of these beds are open in several communities, and the remainder are expected to launch in summer. (January 25, 2024)
Unregulated Drug Deaths 2023 Summary
BC Coroners Service: The Summary on unregulated drug deaths for 2023 reports that this is the highest number of suspected deaths ever recorded in a year; 5% higher than 2022. This summary marks the deaths of 2,511 people lost by their communities, families, and friends. BC’s Chief Coroner, Lisa Lapointe commented to press that “We can take measures to save lives or we can continue to count the dead.” (January 24, 2024)
Additional coverage: BC sets grim record with 2,511 toxic drug deaths in 2023. | BC Chief Coroner angry at province’s ‘lackadaisical’ response to toxic drugs crisis
Outpouring of solidarity as BC prosecutors push back DULF case
Eris Nyx and Jeremy Kalicum, co-founders of Vancouver compassion club Drug User Liberation Front (DULF) were scheduled for their first court date on January 16, but at the last minute, prosecutors pushed it back. Under BC law, police don’t press charges in criminal matters, they recommend charges for review by prosecutors, often called Crown counsel, who then approve them or decline to pursue them. While the court date postponement means that Nyx and Kalicum remain in legal limbo, their charges neither approved nor dismissed by prosecutors, allies of DULF said it could be a sign that the Crown isn’t certain of its legal standing in the case. (January 17, 2024)
BC study on lives saved by prescribing opioids a ‘watershed moment’ in safer supply debate: researcher
People with addiction who received a safer supply of prescribed opioids were 61 per cent less likely to die than those without access to it, according to a BC study published this week in the British Medical Journal. Researchers say it’s a “watershed moment” in the debate over safe supply, which has become a political football with accusations from BC United and Conservative politicians that prescribed opioids are being diverted to people without a prescription and actually contributing to overdose deaths. (January 11, 2024)
The Deadly Myths about Drug Recovery
A new study indicates that abstinence-based inpatient addiction treatment fails to reduce drug poisoning risk. The study reinforced previous findings that “meds, not beds” is the evidence-based approach to reduce opioid poisoning risk. In a political climate where governments seem content with appearing to do something about drug poisoning, advocating for expanded residential treatment and detox — despite their inability to reduce death rates — while the Alberta government continues to flirt with forced abstinence could be actively causing harm. Alberta spends at least 10 times more on residential treatment than it does on supervised consumption. (January 10, 2024)
A BC judge reminds us all that drug addiction is an illness
It wasn’t long after the decriminalization initiative commenced on Jan. 31, 2023, that many cities and towns around the province began to hear complaints about a proliferation in open drug use, particularly in areas frequented by children and seniors. By the fall, the outcry was deafening, leaving the NDP with little option but to act. Many towns and cities in BC complain about open drug use, but will not support the opening of a supervised consumption site in their area. You can’t have it both ways: you can’t say you want drug users to stop using in public but not support opening a safe place for them to go when they want to consume. (January 10, 2024)
Vernon’s Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy first in Interior Health to check illicit drugs
The Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy in Vernon is breaking new ground when it comes to checking the safety of illicit drugs. It’s like any neighbourhood pharmacy, with all the regular offerings, but the Medicine Shoppe also provides a free drug-checking service. It’s the first service of its kind offered at a pharmacy in the BC Interior. (January 7, 2024)
The first legal Vancouver pot shops opened 5 years ago. Some owners say business isn’t booming
Evergreen Cannabis was one of Vancouver’s first two legal pot shops to open that day. There was a lineup around the block and no shortage of enthusiasm from customers. But times have changed. Many cannabis shops in BC have come and gone throughout the course of the first five years of legalization. Owners say competition is fierce, with many shops fighting over market share. (January 5, 2024)
Injunction against BC’s new public drug use law sparks mixed reaction
On December 29th BC Supreme Court Chief Justice Christopher Hinkson issued an injunction against the Restricting Public Consumption of Illegal Substances Act scheduled to come into effect on January 1st, 2024 following passage in late fall of 2023. THe Harm Reduction Nurses Association filed a legal challenge in late November to prevent the law from coming into force. HRNA has also asked the BC Supreme Court to declare the law unconstitutional. Corey Ranger, HNRN’s president, welcomed the ruling. “(This) is very important given the gravity and potential harms of this bill coming into force,” he said. “This temporary injunction provides time for the court to assess whether the law that is being proposed violates Charter rights and is outside BC’s constitutional jurisdiction.” (January 3, 2024)
Canadian doctors to screen for risky drinking as polls suggest it’s adults who have a problem
“Would it be all right for us to talk about your relationship with alcohol?” It’s a question doctors are being urged to routinely ask their patients as part of new guidance aimed at capturing risky drinkers. It can be an awkward topic to bring up, and it’s hard to know how well the “can we talk” pre-screen question will go over because of the stigma that clings to alcohol misuse, said those who helped craft the guideline. (January 1, 2024)
As BC’s chief coroner retires in frustration, we should all lament the province’s drug crisis response
In the dozen or so years that she’s been chief coroner of British Columbia, Lisa Lapointe has had a more disquieting view of the province’s drug crisis than almost anyone else. She will retire in February and has not been shy in recent media interviews in expressing her disappointment with the provincial government’s response to the drug crisis. She pointedly criticized the lack of a co-ordinated response to the drug disaster. “We see all these ad hoc announcements but sadly what we haven’t seen is a thoughtful, evidence-based, data-driven plan for how we are going to reduce the number of deaths in our province,” (December 20, 2023)
BC’s chief coroner exits, frustrated and disappointed with government’s response to overdose crisis
British Columbia’s chief coroner Lisa Lapointe says she’s a hopeful person, but she is leaving her office frustrated and disappointed. Angry, even, with drug overdose deaths expected to hit record levels this year. Ms. Lapointe has been at the forefront of the province’s battle against toxic drug overdoses for years, but she said the public health emergency that was declared in 2016 never received a “a co-ordinated response commensurate with the size of this crisis.” (December 13, 2023)
Advocacy and Research
Open Letter to Saskatchewan government Re: Health Policy Changes
The HIV Legal Network and the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition sent a letter to Sakatchewan Premier Scott Moe, Minister of Health Everett Hindley, and Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Tim McLeod “to express our grave concern at the Saskatchewan government’s recent health policy changes, announced January 18, 2024. We are writing on behalf of the HIV Legal Network and the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition to express our grave concern at the Saskatchewan government’s recent health policy changes, announced January 18, 2024. The changes, which include restricting access to vital harm reduction supplies and information encouraging safer substance use, will jeopardize efforts to combat the transmission of HIV and hepatitis C, shutter cost-effective and proven health interventions, and contradict decades of established scientific evidence, best practice in public health, and international guidance. Ultimately, they put people in Saskatchewan at risk.”
Culture-centred Indigenous harm reduction: Mitigating the impacts of colonialism
In this episode of the Addiction Practice Pod, award-winning journalist David P. Ball speaks with the Medical Officer of Mental Health and Wellness at First Nations Health Authority, Dr. Nolan Hop Wo, on how colonialism and substance use are related. We also hear from Lacey Jones, Program Director of QomQem Coastal Connections, on strengths-based approaches to reducing the harms associated with colonialism.
Prescribing opioids to people with opioid use disorder prevented deaths in BC
New research published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) evaluates the effectiveness of British Columbia’s Risk Mitigation Guidance and found that people with an opioid use disorder who were prescribed at least one day’s supply of opioids as part of BC’s Risk Mitigation Guidance were 61 per cent less likely to die in the following week when compared to a similar group of people who did not receive a prescription.
How cannabis triggers “the munchies” in the brain
While it is well known that cannabis can cause the munchies, researchers have now revealed a mechanism in the brain that promotes appetite in a set of animal studies. The discovery could pave the way for refined therapeutics to treat appetite disorders faced by cancer patients as well as anorexia and potentially obesity.
Initiation of opioid agonist therapy after hospital visits for opioid poisonings in Ontario
ICYMI: Among hospital encounters for opioid toxicity, despite rising prevalence over time, only 1 in 18 patients were dispensed OAT within a week of discharge in early 2020. These findings highlight missed opportunities to initiate therapies proven to reduce mortality in patients with OUD.
When People Ask Harm Reductionists, “What About Treatment?”
A greater availability of community-driven harm reduction programs, developed by and for people who use drugs, could help provide a source of support outside of the formal treatment system, for these people have their own reasons for not engaging in services.
Podcast series: The Truth About Canada’s Opioid Crisis
This Canadian True Crime podcast miniseries explores how Canada got itself into the mess that is the opioid crisis. It shares what grieving families are saying about the current response to the opioid crisis, as it explores answers to urgent questions: How do we stop the steadily rising drug poisoning deaths? Why are so many Canadians seeking oblivion to escape from their pain in the first place? Three episodes.
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)