Coroner, policy experts push for expanded safe supply as drug toxicity deaths continue to climb
With British Columbia on pace to break the annual record for drug toxicity deaths again – drug policy experts and the province’s chief coroner continue to press for an expansion of safer supply alternatives.
According to the latest numbers released by the BC Coroner’s Service, 198 people in the province died from tainted street drugs in July.
The total from the start of year to the end of last month is 1,455 – a record for that time span.
"We know that this crisis is being driven by broken policy,” said DJ Larkin, executive director of the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition.
By some estimates, about 100,000 people in the province have been diagnosed with some form of substance use disorder, but according to the province’s own numbers, just 4,619 were prescribed safer supply opioids in June.
“I think it’s making a difference. But I also think 198 people passing away is obviously unacceptable to me and to everybody,” said provincial Health Minister Adrian Dix.
Larkin points out the number of people diagnosed with substance use disorder does not include occasional recreational users who are also getting drugs from the toxic street supply.
They say access to safer supply needs to increase exponentially, or we will continue to see record-setting numbers of deaths.
"The toxicity of the unregulated market is ongoing and unmitigated. It is putting lives at risk every day,” Larkin said. “And when we see that scale of loss, folks in community feel that grief very deeply."
SIX PEOPLE PER DAY DYING FROM DRUG TOXICITY
B.C.’s Chief Coroner concurs, and is also calling for a rapid expansion of safer supply in an effort to save lives.
“It’s taking too much time, frankly, because we are in a crisis where we are seeing six people die every day,” said Lisa Lapointe. "It's hard to imagine any other cause of death in this province where six people would be dying every day and there isn't a massive public health response."
The province declared the overdose crisis a Public Health Emergency more than seven years ago.
Dix said regulated safer supply is just one facet of the province’s strategy on mental health and addictions.
“We have never seen this level of growth in those services and the challenge is massive,” he said. “So, in all areas, we’re taking action and it requires all areas. It’s not a one area response. It’s not a safe supply response. It is part of the response.”
POLITICAL RHETORIC INFLUENCING SAFER SUPPLY DEBATE
Much of the discussion around safer supply has been charged with political rhetoric.
Pierre Poilievre, leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, has been a very outspoken critic of harm reduction policies.
In May, he brought a motion before Parliament taking aim at federal funding for pharmaceutical alternatives as a replacement for illicit drugs to combat the opioid crisis.
MPs defeated his motion by in a 209-113 vote.
In an interview with CTV News, Lapointe urged politicians and the public to focus on medical science and not ideology when it comes to the safer supply debate.
“People can have different opinions and beliefs but when we are wanting to resolve a serious medical crisis, I think it’s really, really important that we have an evidence-based response to crisis,” she said.
Street drug toxicity is now the leading cause of death in the province for people between the ages of 10 and 59.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
'Sophisticated' cyberattacks detected on B.C. government networks, premier says
There has been a "sophisticated" cybersecurity breach detected on B.C. government networks, Premier David Eby confirmed Wednesday evening.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
Biden says he will stop sending bombs and artillery shells to Israel if they launch major invasion of Rafah
U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time Wednesday he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel, which he acknowledged have been used to kill civilians in Gaza, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah.
Rookie goalie Arturs Silovs to start for Canucks in Game 1 vs. Oilers
Rookie goalie Arturs Silovs will start in net for the Canucks as Vancouver kicks off a second-round series against the Edmonton Oilers Wednesday night.
Nijjar murder suspect says he had Canadian study permit in immigration firm's video
One of the Indian nationals accused of murdering British Columbia Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar says in a social media video that he received a Canadian study permit with the help of an Indian immigration consultancy.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Quebec premier defends new museum on Quebecois nation after Indigenous criticism
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is defending his comments about a new history museum after he was accused by a prominent First Nations group of trying to erase their history.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.