The latest news articles featuring BC Centre on Substance Use.
Vancouver mayor credits DTES task force with reducing overdoses. Here’s what public health experts say
November 19, 2025 | CTV News
Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim continues to laud the impacts of a police-led task force focused on crime on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, claiming it led to a reduction in overdoses. At a Nov. 5 council meeting, Sim relayed data from Vancouver Fire Rescue Services that from February to August, the first...
Doctors say involuntary detention not the answer, as Manitoba passes bill allowing 3 days of protective care
November 06, 2025 | CBC News
Some medical professionals say detaining highly intoxicated people for up to three days could put lives at risk if it’s not accompanied by proper care. On Wednesday, the Manitoba Legislature passed the NDP government’s Bill 48, the Protective Detention and Care of Intoxicated Persons Ac...
‘Like a bomb dropping’: Safer supply changes leave patients struggling for stability
October 14, 2025 | The Discourse
Lenae Silva makes a trip to the pharmacy every day where she gets a slow-release fentanyl patch that covers half her back and a dose of quick-release fentanyl tablets, which she takes half of at the pharmacy and is allowed to take half home for a second dose later in the day. She started smoking met...
Get Your Drugs Tested
October 03, 2025 | Penticton Herald
It’s ironic, in a way. All the testing here in the Downtown Eastside is done anonymously, yet the name of the service couldn’t be more straightforward: Get Your Drugs Tested (GYDT). The simplicity reflects the philosophy — that honesty and openness are often the most practical, accessible, and...
Opinion: Criminalizing drug use won’t solve addiction
October 01, 2025 | Calgary Herald
I almost spit out my coffee when I read the headline and premise of last week’s opinion column by Marshall Smith, the former chief of staff to the premier of Alberta: “Banning public drug use is bold, courageous and obvious.” I’ve been sober for more than 12 years. Before that, I spent three...
