Close X
Monday, November 11, 2024
ADVT 
National

B.C. Coroner's death panel recommends issuing drugs without prescription to stop ODs

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 01 Nov, 2023 12:19 PM
  • B.C. Coroner's death panel recommends issuing drugs without prescription to stop ODs

A death review panel from the British Columbia Coroners Service is recommending community groups be allowed to hand out drugs without a prescription in an attempt to stop the relentless overdose death toll. 

The panel's report coincided with the monthly overdose death toll of 175 people in September, which the coroners service says is a 10 per cent drop from the same month a year ago, but still equal to 5.8 deaths a day across B.C. 

Jennifer Whiteside, B.C.'s minister of mental health and addictions, immediately rejected the proposal in a letter to chief coroner Lisa Lapointe, saying a non-prescription model is not being considered and she can't accept the main recommendation.

The report says about 225,000 people in B.C. use unregulated substances but fewer than 5,000 people a month have prescriptions to receive safe-supply drugs.

Michael Egilson, the chair of the Coroners Service death panel review, says in a statement that the report's recommendations reflect the sense of urgency in the province to prevent more overdose deaths.

The panel says the fastest way to reduce deaths is to cut dependence on the unregulated toxic drug supply. 

"A fundamentally different approach is urgently required as incremental increases of existing interventions are unlikely to make a meaningful population difference and people will continue to die at unprecedented rates," the report says. 

"The urgent need for a practical, scalable response to the public health emergency requires pursuit of a non-medical model that provides people who use drugs with an alternative to the unregulated drug market."

The report says such an approach would complement the existing medical model and would be more nimble to meet the unique needs of people in communities that are rural and remote, or that lack the infrastructure needed by medical clinics. 

More than 13,000 people have died since April 2016, when B.C. declared a public health emergency for the overdose crisis as the powerful opioid fentanyl became more common on the streets.

Health Canada granted B.C. an exemption under the Controlled Drugs Act last January to allow people in B.C. to possess small amounts of hard drugs in an effort to reduce the stigma associated with drug use and prevent deaths.

MORE National ARTICLES

Climate, development, India top of mind as Trudeau travels to UN General Assembly

Climate, development, India top of mind as Trudeau travels to UN General Assembly
 The day before departing for New York, Trudeau rocked the House of Commons with "credible allegations" linking agents of India's government to the deadly shooting this past June of a Sikh leader in Surrey, B.C.  It's a striking contextual backdrop for the week ahead at the United Nations, a place where aspirational visions of a prosperous and peaceful future often crash headlong into stark political realities. 

Climate, development, India top of mind as Trudeau travels to UN General Assembly

India expels Canadian diplomat after Canada links Indian agents to Sikh leader death

India expels Canadian diplomat after Canada links Indian agents to Sikh leader death
India struck back at Canada early Tuesday after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau linked agents of India's government to the shooting death of a Sikh leader near Vancouver. A statement from India's Ministry of External Affairs says an unnamed senior Canadian diplomat has been asked to leave India within the next five days.

India expels Canadian diplomat after Canada links Indian agents to Sikh leader death

Canada told allies before sharing allegations about India over B.C. killing: Trudeau

Canada told allies before sharing allegations about India over B.C. killing: Trudeau
Trudeau revealed in the House of Commons on Monday that Canadian intelligence services are investigating "credible" information about "a potential link" between India's government and the death of British Columbia Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Trudeau said India's government "needs to take this matter with the utmost seriousness" but would not say whether it is co-operating.

Canada told allies before sharing allegations about India over B.C. killing: Trudeau

Eby 'deeply disturbed' by CSIS briefing on Nijjar killing in Surrey, B.C.

Eby 'deeply disturbed' by CSIS briefing on Nijjar killing in Surrey, B.C.
British Columbia Premier David Eby says he's received a briefing from Canada's spy agency about the "assassination" of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar and he's "deeply disturbed" by what he was told. He says he's calling on the federal government to share all information related to ongoing foreign interference and "transnational organized crime threats."  

Eby 'deeply disturbed' by CSIS briefing on Nijjar killing in Surrey, B.C.

Attack on 2 shopkeepers in Chinatown: VPD

Attack on 2 shopkeepers in Chinatown: VPD
A 50-year-old man has been charged with assault after what Vancouver police say was a violent attack on two shopkeepers in the Chinatown neighbourhood. Police say the married couple, who are both in their 70s, were working in their shop last Thursday when the suspect entered and began causing a disturbance.   

Attack on 2 shopkeepers in Chinatown: VPD

Removal of B.C. MLA Adam Walker from NDP caucus unrelated to police, harassment: Eby

Removal of B.C. MLA Adam Walker from NDP caucus unrelated to police, harassment: Eby
Speaking to reporters for the first time since Walker was kicked out over the weekend, Eby says he decided the member could no longer be part of the group after a formal investigation by NDP caucus. Eby says he wishes he could share more but rules related to human resources and privacy prevent him going into specifics about the accusations, which are not a criminal matter.

Removal of B.C. MLA Adam Walker from NDP caucus unrelated to police, harassment: Eby