Close X
Sunday, November 24, 2024
ADVT 
National

B.C. should explore non-prescribed alternatives to fentanyl to combat crisis: Henry

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 11 Jul, 2024 10:11 AM
  • B.C. should explore non-prescribed alternatives to fentanyl to combat crisis: Henry

A report from B.C.'s provincial health officer recommends the province expand its "safer supply" program to prevent overdoses, including allowing access to alternatives to unregulated drugs without a prescription. 

Dr. Bonnie Henry says in her latest report on the overdose crisis that efforts centred on drug prohibition have not only failed to control access to controlled substances but have also created the toxic unregulated drug supply that has killed thousands since a health emergency was declared eight years ago. 

Her report echoes the findings from former chief coroner Lisa Lapointe, who said in January before leaving her post that prescribed safer-supply drugs would not solve the crisis that has already claimed more than 14,000 lives in British Columbia since 2016.

At the time, B.C. Premier David Eby rejected Lapointe's pleas, saying he did not believe distribution of opioid drugs should happen without the supervision of medical professionals.

Henry says in her report that 225,000 or more people in B.C. are accessing unregulated drugs and fentanyl continues to be the main killer, with 83 per cent of illicit drug deaths linked to the opioid.

Henry says a system to allow access to safer, regulated alternatives to fentanyl and other drugs is necessary, because a significant number of people who died from the unregulated drug supply did not have substance-use disorders and cannot be protected by "medicalized approaches."

"Ultimately, we cannot prescribe our way out of this crisis," Henry says in the report. "Finding new ways to enable access to alternatives to unregulated drugs will require bold conversations, system-level changes, and thinking outside of the constraints that have so far failed to turn this crisis around."

B.C.'s current prescribed safer-supply policy has been intensely debated within the province and beyond, with federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith both claiming that drugs from the program were being diverted into the rest of Canada.

Solicitor General Mike Farnworth has said that there's no evidence of widespread diversion of safe-supply drugs, and Henry says in the latest report that "anecdotes may not reflect the experience of most people who are prescribed alternatives to unregulated drugs."

"Ongoing monitoring, evaluation and research is required to assess the degree to which diversion is occurring, and its impacts," Henry says in the 88-page report.

Henry also criticized prohibition-based drug policies, saying Canada has a long history of such laws "that are rooted in racism, colonialism and xenophobia."

The report says community-based "compassion clubs," such as the one operated by the Drug User Liberation Front, or DULF, could be potential models for safer-supply access without prescriptions.

DULF co-founders Jeremy Kalicum and Eris Nyx were arrested last October, closing the "compassion club" service after about a year in operation. 

They were charged in June with three counts each of possession for the purpose of trafficking. 

Vancouver police said at the time of their arrest that while it acknowledged DULF had been operating in an attempt to reduce "impacts of the toxic drug supply," the authorities have to uphold and enforce existing laws.

MORE National ARTICLES

Weather window may help search for three missing mountaineers: B.C. RCMP

Weather window may help search for three missing mountaineers: B.C. RCMP
Police and rescue teams hope a window of good weather will help the search for three mountaineers lost since Friday on Mount Garibaldi in British Columbia. A Squamish RCMP spokeswoman says the clearing conditions could allow an aerial assessment of the area before search and rescue teams are deployed in the "complex terrain."

Weather window may help search for three missing mountaineers: B.C. RCMP

Fatal stabbing in Chinatown

Fatal stabbing in Chinatown
Police say they're investigating a fatal stabbing this morning in Vancouver's Chinatown. They say officers responded to a report of a man in medical distress on Union Street just before 3:30 a-m. 

Fatal stabbing in Chinatown

Family phone plans hinder escape from domestic violence: Women's Shelters Canada

Family phone plans hinder escape from domestic violence: Women's Shelters Canada
Women's Shelters Canada is calling on phone companies to adjust how they respond to those escaping from domestic violence, saying the costs of changing a phone number and difficulties leaving a shared plan are key barriers for victims.

Family phone plans hinder escape from domestic violence: Women's Shelters Canada

Cybersecurity standards emerging in Canada as ransomware business booms

Cybersecurity standards emerging in Canada as ransomware business booms
The ransomware business is booming in Canada. Recent victims have included large corporations such as retailer London Drugs, as well as the City of Hamilton, Ont., and the government of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Cybersecurity standards emerging in Canada as ransomware business booms

Bank of Canada cuts key interest rate for first time in more than four years

Bank of Canada cuts key interest rate for first time in more than four years
The Bank of Canada cut its key interest rate for the first time in more than four years Wednesday, marking a major turning point in its fight against inflation. With the quarter-percentage-point cut, the central bank’s key interest rate now stands at 4.75 per cent.

Bank of Canada cuts key interest rate for first time in more than four years

Machete wielding carjacking

Machete wielding carjacking
A woman has been charged after allegedly stealing a taxi cab while wielding a machete. Victoria police say the woman requested a ride to several places on Friday night and when the cab driver asked her to pay up, she allegedly threatened the driver with a machete and drove off with the taxi.

Machete wielding carjacking