Close X
Friday, November 15, 2024
ADVT 
National

B.C. coroner wants action on safer drug supply

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 12 Apr, 2022 02:45 PM
  • B.C. coroner wants action on safer drug supply

VANCOUVER - British Columbia's coroner says over 9,400 people in the province have died of an overdose from toxic illicit drugs since the government declared a public health emergency six years ago.

Lisa Lapointe says urgent action is needed to decriminalize small amounts of drugs for personal use and to provide more people with a safer supply of substances that would replace the profit-driven illicit market.

Lapointe says she understands that the concept of a safer drug supply is difficult for some people to understand, given decades of a punitive, enforcement-based approach to substance use, but more people will die without a regulated source of drugs in every part of the province.

She says an average of six people die every day in B.C., with most of the fatalities occurring in Vancouver, Surrey and Victoria.

Lapointe released a report in March calling on the province to develop a policy to distribute a safer supply of drugs with a plan that would see action taken over 30, 60 and 90 says.

Mental Health and Addictions Minister Sheila Malcolmson says she could not immediately provide details on how many people are accessing a safer supply of drugs, but it's been particularly challenging to recruit and retain nurse practitioners and doctors to prescribe substitute medications in the region covered by the Northern Health authority.

The coroner also said preliminary data shows at least 174 people died in February from overdoses.

"The deaths of another 174 B.C. residents, so many of them young and middle-aged men with years of life ahead of them, is yet another reminder that urgent action is needed on a provincewide scale," Lapointe said in a statement.

MORE National ARTICLES

269 COVID19 cases for Wednesday

269 COVID19 cases for Wednesday
There are 258 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19, and 49 are in intensive care. In the past 24 hours, one new death (Northern Health) has been reported, for an overall total of 2,975.

269 COVID19 cases for Wednesday

B.C. municipalities want joint housing action

B.C. municipalities want joint housing action
The report comes after Housing Minister David Eby recently said municipal governments are holding up housing developments in their communities and he’s preparing to introduce legislation to remove their final project approval powers.    

B.C. municipalities want joint housing action

VPD arrests alleged Komagata Maru memorial vandal

VPD arrests alleged Komagata Maru memorial vandal
The charge stems from a VPD investigation that was launched on August 22, 2021, when the Komagata Maru memorial, located in Coal Harbour, was defaced with white paint, hand prints, and graffiti. The memorial honours passengers who were aboard the Komagata Maru when the ship was denied entry to Vancouver after sailing here from India in 1914.

VPD arrests alleged Komagata Maru memorial vandal

Burnaby RCMP seizes about $100,000 worth of contraband cigarettes from Surrey home

Burnaby RCMP seizes about $100,000 worth of contraband cigarettes from Surrey home
Between December 25, 2021 and January 3, 2022, three businesses in industrial areas of Burnaby were broken into. Burnaby’s POST took conduct of the investigation and, with the assistance of local policing partners, were able to link the three break-ins and identify two suspects.

Burnaby RCMP seizes about $100,000 worth of contraband cigarettes from Surrey home

Canada, U.S. launch talks on data-sharing deal

Canada, U.S. launch talks on data-sharing deal
Today's announcement is part of a cross-border crime forum taking place this week in the U.S. capital with Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino and Justice Minister David Lametti.    

Canada, U.S. launch talks on data-sharing deal

Liberal-NDP deal 'political theatre': expert

Liberal-NDP deal 'political theatre': expert
The deal says NDP MPs will side with the Liberals on key votes until 2025 — meaning they won’t bring down the government over the coming budget, for example, which is expected to be released in the next few weeks.

Liberal-NDP deal 'political theatre': expert