The latest news articles featuring BC Centre on Substance Use.
B.C. overdose deaths declined in 2019 but health officials caution the fentanyl crisis continues
February 24, 2020 | Georgia Straight
The province’s first initial count of overdose deaths in 2019 shows a sharp decline from previous years but a number that remains miles above what was once considered “normal” for British Columbia. There were 981 illicit-drug-overdose deaths in B.C. last year, according to a B.C. Coroners Serv...
Drug Experts on Jordan Peterson Seeking Treatment in Russia for Benzo Dependence
February 13, 2020 | VICE
While revealing that her famous father is physically dependent on benzodiazepines, Jordan Peterson’s daughter Mikhaila delivered a stinging rebuke of doctors in “the West.” But drug policy experts say some of her claims are dangerous and don’t appear to be evidence-based. In a pair of articl...
Why small changes to the language around addiction are so enormously important
February 09, 2020 | CBC News
One of my patients recently refused to go to the hospital for a life-threatening infection, stating “I don’t want to go to [this hospital] because they treat me like I’m just an addict there.” She is a loving mother of four and proud grandparent of three. She is a resilient...
Fatal overdoses are down—possibly because so many B.C. drug users have already died
February 05, 2020 | Georgia Straight
Through 1997, Vancouver authorities met regularly in response to an unprecedented outbreak of HIV/AIDS. The virus had killed 877 people in the city of Vancouver over the preceding five years, plus another 555 across British Columbia. A budding Downtown Eastside activist named Ann Livingston atten...
Taking root: How Canada’s first student recovery community is growing at UBC
January 28, 2020 | The Ubyssey
For years, third-year PhD student Sara Fudjack struggled with alcohol use. Fudjack’s drinking began in college the same way it often does for other students: at parties or bars or clubs, where alcohol was a common crutch for young people looking to socialize. But she had trouble stopping — somet...
