Close X
Wednesday, November 13, 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

Feds could spur rental construction with tax incentives, financing: experts

Feds could spur rental construction with tax incentives, financing: experts
Strong demand for rentals and a shortage of homes are both contributing to soaring rental costs. And that's making it even more difficult for people to save money for down payment on a home. For most minimum-wage workers, affording these rents with their earnings is impossible. 

Feds could spur rental construction with tax incentives, financing: experts

Home prices in Canada continue to rise

Home prices in Canada continue to rise
Home prices in Canada continued to rise last month, the fourth consecutive monthly increase. Eight of the 11 markets in the composite index were up in July led by Halifax at 4.9 per cent, Vancouver at 3.9 per cent and Toronto at 3.5 per cent.

Home prices in Canada continue to rise

West Kelowna evacuations triple, as City of Kelowna declares wildfire emergency

West Kelowna evacuations triple, as City of Kelowna declares wildfire emergency
The "very active and unpredictable" McDougall Creek wildfire has grown more than six times during a frightening night, destroying homes and putting more than 2,400 West Kelowna properties under evacuation order, up from about 800 Thursday afternoon.  

West Kelowna evacuations triple, as City of Kelowna declares wildfire emergency

BC Ferries suspends sailings of Coastal Renaissance ferry

BC Ferries suspends sailings of Coastal Renaissance ferry
B-C Ferries says it has suspending sailings of the Coastal Renaissance due to a mechanical problem. The move affects trips between Tsawwassen in Metro Vancouver and Duke Point in Nanaimo.

BC Ferries suspends sailings of Coastal Renaissance ferry

Unprovoked attack in East Vancouver

Unprovoked attack in East Vancouver
A passerby found the injured victim and called 9-1-1. The man, who lives nearby, was taken to hospital with head injuries. He is expected to survive.  

Unprovoked attack in East Vancouver

West Kelowna declares state of emergency over encroaching wildfire

West Kelowna declares state of emergency over encroaching wildfire
Central Okanagan Emergency Operations has also placed 68 properties on evacuation order and another 5,700 properties on alert due to the nearby McDougall Creek wildfire, which grew to three square kilometres in a matter of hours after it started on Wednesday. 

West Kelowna declares state of emergency over encroaching wildfire