The latest news articles featuring BC Centre on Substance Use.
Overdose patients at Vancouver hospital to get take-home opioid medication
February 07, 2019 | CBC News (BC)
John Boyd has been using opioids like fentanyl around Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside for about four years. During that time he’s had some close calls and one serious overdose. “You’re walking along and then, ‘bang.’ The next thing you’re looking at is ambul...
B.C. wants federal action after 1,500 deaths from illicit overdoses last year
February 07, 2019 | National Post
VICTORIA — British Columbia’s mental health and addictions minister has joined health officials to call for a safer drug supply to fight the rising overdose death toll while urging the federal government to open a “courageous conversation” on decriminalization. “They are not prepared to do...
Chief medical health officer shares plan to prevent Vancouver drug deaths
January 31, 2019 | Vancouver Sun
Vancouver Coastal Health’s chief medical officer is urging health authorities to make it easier for people to start and stay on treatments for addictions as a way to spare lives during B.C.’s continuing overdose crisis. Dr. Patricia Daly presented an update on the crisis at a public board meetin...
Crackdown, a new podcast from the Downtown Eastside, reports on the drug war through the eyes of its victims
January 29, 2019 | Georgia Straight
The overdose epidemic receives a lot of media attention in Vancouver. More than 350 people in the city died after taking drugs last year, which is an astronomical number for a population its size. Journalists have responded admirably and devote daily coverage to the health crisis. But Garth Mullins...
Downtown Eastside academics at the BCCSU work alongside first responders to reduce B.C. overdose deaths
January 29, 2019 | Georgia Straight
Vancouver paramedics and firefighters receive a lot of credit for the extra burden they’ve carried since fentanyl arrived in B.C. and sent overdose calls skyrocketing. The same goes for social-service providers and staff at supervised-injection sites. To be sure, they all deserve praise. But there...
