The latest news articles featuring BC Centre on Substance Use.
Inside the battle to open Insite 20 years ago, and why it never ended
September 15, 2023 | Vancouver Sun
Longtime drug-user Dean Wilson was one of many advocates who fought to open North America’s first supervised injection site in Vancouver 20 years ago. They were an eclectic group that included former drug-users, community activists, a conservative mayor and middle-class parents of addicted childre...
Insite Is Turning 20
September 15, 2023 | The Tyee
Over the last two decades, Insite, located in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, has had people walk through its doors 4.6 million times, and welcomed people into its supervised injection room three million times, said Dr. Mark Lysyshyn, deputy chief medical health officer of Vancouver Coastal Health....
How Prescription Heroin Is Saving Lives
September 12, 2023 | The Tyee
Crosstown Clinic patient Michel has used opiates for 30 years. His addiction to heroin, he says, drove him to use “alternative methods to get money, like criminal activity.” Six years ago, exhausted by the lifestyle he was leading, Michel joined Crosstown as a patient and began accessing prescri...
It’s been more than 6 months of drug decriminalization in B.C. What’s changed?
September 08, 2023 | Global News
The B.C. government has said reducing stigma around drug use is a key goal of its decriminalization program, but more than six months into the initiative, some advocates are worried it’s failing so far. B.C.’s exemption to the federal Controlled Drugs and Substances Act took effect on Jan. 31,...
Decriminalization: How police drug seizure, even without arrest, can create harms
August 30, 2023 | The Conversation
International Overdose Awareness Day, an annual campaign to end overdose and drug poisonings while also remembering those who have died, is Aug. 31. Events are being held in communities across Canada, a sign of a worsening crisis that has taken more than 36,000 lives since 2016. The day also repre...
