The latest news articles featuring BC Centre on Substance Use.
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...
Street drugs poisoned with benzos can lead to ‘catastrophic’ overdoses: advocate
April 29, 2021 | Yahoo News Canada
VANCOUVER — A drug policy adviser to the City of Vancouver is warning of a dangerous drug saturating British Columbia’s illicit supply in much the same way fentanyl did several years ago. Karen Ward said unregulated benzodiazepines, or benzos, make overdoses more complex because they are oft...
British Columbia officially requests decriminalization of drug possession
April 27, 2021 | Drug & Alcohol Testing Association of Canada
On the fifth anniversary of declaring B.C.’s public health emergency for overdose deaths, B.C. will officially request a federal exemption from Health Canada to decriminalize personal possession of drugs. Since April 14, 2016, the BC Coroners Service reports illicit drugs have claimed the lives of...
Drug overdose deaths in Manitoba surge by 87% in 2020
April 20, 2021 | CBC News
On average, at least one person died per day of a drug overdose in Manitoba last year, according to new figures obtained by CBC News. Between January and December 2020, 372 people lost their lives to overdoses in the province, which exceeds all of 2019 by 87 per cent, according to preliminary data ...
Is crackdown on Rx opioid diversion fuelling overdose crisis?
April 20, 2021 | Securing Industry
High rates of overdose linked street drugs laced with fentanyl are causing drug users to seek out diverted prescription opioids, says a new study. The small study run in Vancouver, Canada, was based on interviews with people who use drugs (PWUDs) and are therefore at high risk of overdose if they bu...
