The latest news articles featuring BC Centre on Substance Use.
Prescribing safer alternatives to potentially deadly street drugs saved lives: B.C. study
January 11, 2024 | Vancouver Is Awesome
VANCOUVER — Researchers in British Columbia have published a study that suggests prescription opioids prevent overdose deaths among people with an addiction to potentially toxic street drugs. They found that those who were prescribed at least one day’s supply of opioids were 55 per cent less...
Drug users, advocates issue warning about xylazine
January 09, 2024 | Fort Frances Times
It took only one puff of drugs cut with xylazine to knock the tall, solidly built William Bernier out for an hour. Bernier, who didn’t know he was taking xylazine, was alarmed by the sudden powerful rush despite having more than a decade’s worth of experience using drugs. First, he felt like he ...
Calls for more addiction treatment as B.C. drug decriminalization enters second year
December 28, 2023 | Times Colonist
VANCOUVER — A narrow, winding corridor at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver leads to a clinic offering quick access to addiction treatment for people seeking help on their own or after a referral from an emergency room, a family doctor or a social worker. Nurses and physicians at the Rapid Ac...
Opioid Agonist Therapy Underused, Data Suggest
December 22, 2023 | Medscape
Few patients with opioid toxicity receive opioid agonist therapy (OAT), data suggest. In a retrospective study that examined about 21,000 hospital visits related to opioid use disorder (OUD) in Ontario, Canada, 4.1% resulted in community-based initiation of OAT within 7 days of discharge. “F...
Animal tranquilizers showing up in B.C.’s drug supply, increasing need for regulated supply: advocate
December 17, 2023 | CityNews Vancouver
A harm reduction advocate says B.C.’s drug supply is getting increasingly worse as animal tranquilizers enter the mix. Guy Felicella, clinical advisor at BC’s Centre on Substance Use, says xylazine, which is a type of horse tranquilizer, is now showing up in samples from Vancouver and Sechelt, a...
