Calls for more addiction treatment as B.C. drug decriminalization enters second year

published on December 28, 2023 by Camille Bains in 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 Access Addiction Clinic see people with severe dependence on alcohol or drugs, with the vast majority of the 20 to 30 daily patients needing support to quit using illegal opioids.

They are typically prescribed methadone or Suboxone, medications that ease the pain of withdrawal and cravings for potentially deadly drugs as part of a brief intervention. The goal is to stabilize patients before connecting them to a family doctor for followup treatment and rehabilitation.

But there is no clear path to continuing care for many of the patients without a family doctor, said nurse lead Victoria Ramos…