B.C. suspends harm-reduction vending machines pending review

published on September 12, 2024 in CBC News

Automated kiosks that dispense harm-reduction supplies on Vancouver Island have been suspended or removed while the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions conducts a review.

The kiosks, which had been placed at hospitals in Nanaimo, Campbell River and Victoria in the fall of 2023, offered free access to supplies like naloxone, drug-testing strips and safe-sex kits alongside drug paraphernalia like bubble pipes and snorting utensils.

At least one kiosk on hospital grounds in Nanaimo has already been removed.

Premier David Eby ordered a review of the program in late August after Gwen O’Mahony, the B.C. Conservative candidate for the Nanaimo-Lantzville riding, posted a video to social media highlighting her concerns about the vending machines.

The ministry told CBC News that while its review is underway, health authorities are suspending “harm reduction measures that do not offer an opportunity for an in-person connection with a peer or health care worker who can provide a connection to the system of care.”…