Scale up B.C. drug-checking programs to save lives: centre on substance use
published on February 19, 2022 by Camille Bains in Winnipeg Free Press
VANCOUVER – Checking illicit drugs for deadly toxins is the best option to prevent fatal overdoses without a safer supply, but that service should be expanded to rural and remote communities in British Columbia, says the manager of a drug-checking program being evaluated by the BC Centre for Substance Use.
Jenny Matthews said drug users who live in non-urban areas often can’t get their drugs tested for contaminants, including high concentrations of fentanyl and, increasingly, benzodiazepines, for which the overdose-reversing medication naloxone is not as effective.