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

Air quality advisory lifted for most of Metro Vancouver

Air quality advisory lifted for most of Metro Vancouver
An air quality advisory covering most of the Vancouver area has been lifted. The Metro Vancouver Regional District says a change in weather has reduced the amount of fine particulate matter in the air coming from wildfire smoke in the B-C Interior.

Air quality advisory lifted for most of Metro Vancouver

Structural losses from wildfires in West Kelowna area estimated at fewer than 90

Structural losses from wildfires in West Kelowna area estimated at fewer than 90
Premier David Eby was scheduled to visit the fire-ravaged southern Interior on Tuesday, along with Emergency Management Minister Bowinn Ma and Forests Minister Bruce Ralston, to get a first-hand look at the devastation caused by the raging wildfires. 

Structural losses from wildfires in West Kelowna area estimated at fewer than 90

Firearms charges against US man

Firearms charges against US man
The Canada Border Services Agency says charges have been laid against an American man after he attempted to bring guns into the country. It says in a statement today that the man was stopped on May 6 by C-B-S-A officers at the Abbotsford border crossing as he attempted to pass through B-C on his way to Alaska.

Firearms charges against US man

Too early to provide estimates of insured damages from BC wildfires : Insurance Bureau of Canada

Too early to provide estimates of insured damages from BC wildfires : Insurance Bureau of Canada
The Insurance Bureau of Canada says it's too early to provide estimates of insured damages from British Columbia fires that are still burning. However, experts do recommend getting your insurance claim started as soon as possible.

Too early to provide estimates of insured damages from BC wildfires : Insurance Bureau of Canada

Federal cabinet retreat to hear from housing experts today

Federal cabinet retreat to hear from housing experts today
Two housing experts who helped co-author a recent report on the federal government's role in solving the housing crisis are set to present their findings to the cabinet later today. The report delivered a week ago warns that "Canada's housing crisis is worsening dramatically" in large part because of an "extreme" lack of accessible and affordable rentals.

Federal cabinet retreat to hear from housing experts today

Eby to visit wildfire ravaged areas of BC

Eby to visit wildfire ravaged areas of BC
BC Premier David Eby wants to visit the province's fire-ravaged southern Interior today to reassure residents that the government will be there to help rebuild when the wildfire crisis has passed. Several large blazes are burning in the region, including the 110-square-kilometre McDougall Creek wildfire.

Eby to visit wildfire ravaged areas of BC