The latest news articles featuring BC Centre on Substance Use.
‘Why would the numbers be lower?’: Advocate says B.C. toxic drug deaths will continue without gov’t action
June 01, 2021 | CityNews (News 1130)
VICTORIA (NEWS 1130) — Leslie McBain is heartbroken but not surprised that 176 people in B.C. died from toxic, illicit drugs in April, saying deaths will continue to set devastating records until the province changes its response. On Tuesday, the BC Coroners Service announced one of the highest mo...
Thomas Kerr and Garth Mullins: The Vancouver model of decriminalization leaves out those who need it most
May 27, 2021 | Vancouver Sun
In response to the ongoing and escalating overdose crisis, the City of Vancouver recently announced its intention to apply to the federal government to decriminalize personal possession of small amounts of drugs. The decriminalization of drug possession has been recommended by a range of internat...
‘No one’s listening’: As opioid-related deaths surge in Canada, advocates say there’s little gov’t support
May 21, 2021 | CBC - The Current
Zoe Dodd knows how painful it is to lose someone to the opioid crisis. In the past week and half alone, three people she knew died of an overdose. The Toronto-based harm reduction worker said she’s been so traumatized by the opioid crisis this past year that she had to take three months off ...
12-year-old becomes youngest person to die of overdose in B.C. during pandemic
May 05, 2021 | CTV News
VICTORIA — Adriana Londono is trying to come to terms with the fact that she will never get to see her 12-year-old daughter again. “She was too young to go,” said Londono. Her daughter Ally died of a suspected fentanyl overdose on April 14. “I was told that she was the youngest to die fr...
The “Vancouver Model” of decriminalization will set a dangerous precedent for drug users across Canada
May 03, 2021 | The Mainlander
VANDU Open Letter: The City’s current “Vancouver Model” of decriminalization will set a dangerous precedent for drug users across Canada In November 2020, Vancouver City Council unanimously passed a motion to request that the federal government decriminalize the simple possession of illicit dr...
