Pilot project to pay B.C. drug users to go through treatment

published on December 4, 2023 by Simon Little and Kristen Robinson in Global News

A B.C. substance use treatment program is piloting an innovative approach to helping users kick drugs: Paying them.

The pilot, set to begin in 2024, will operate out of the Road to Recovery Program at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver, and is being privately funded through a $500,000 gift from an anonymous donor.

Guy Felicella, a peer clinical advisor with the B.C. Centre on Substance Use who is spearheading the initiative, said the idea came as a reaction to proposals that would force drug users to undergo involuntary treatment.

Rather than coercing people who aren’t ready to kick drugs, he said, why not offer an incentive to people who are ready to get through he program.

“Going into recovery treatment is one component and getting off of substances is one component,” he said. “But addressing all the other social determinants of health is another, and this is that.”…