The latest news articles featuring BC Centre on Substance Use.
UBC trials drug testing robot at music festival
August 15, 2023 | DATAC
Researchers from the University of British Columbia (UBC) led by Dr. Jason Hein, have created a new, portable drug testing machine, which they tested at the Shambhala Music festival held from July 21 – July 24 near Nelson, B.C. Since current drug testing tools are not portable, the research grou...
Illicit Drug Users Turn to Cannabis as ‘Safe Supply’ Option
August 11, 2023 | Pain News Network
The cannabis industry and its advocates have long said that medical marijuana could help solve the opioid crisis by reducing demand for prescription opioids. While the evidence for that claim is somewhat mixed, a new study suggests that cannabis may be useful in reducing demand for illicit opioids, ...
Six months into B.C.’s decriminalization experiment, what’s working and what’s not?
August 05, 2023 | Vancouver Sun
B.C. embarked on a first-in-Canada experiment at the beginning of this year with the decriminalization of small amounts of certain drugs in an effort to realign its response to the toxic drug poisoning crisis toward a health-oriented approach. Six months later, the reviews are mixed. While police se...
Edmonton substance users can get drugs checked at new downtown testing site
August 01, 2023 | CBC News
As overdoses in Edmonton reach record-high levels, users can visit a free drug-checking site that will analyze substances to determine what is in them and whether they’ve been cut with high-potency materials. The Spectrum drug testing program, which operates Monday and Friday afternoons at 10...
Advocates hope rookie minister acts quickly to tackle a wave of overdose deaths
July 28, 2023 | CBC News
Ya’ara Saks, Canada’s new minister of mental health and addictions, inherits a complex portfolio and an opioid crisis that has only gotten worse in almost every year since 2016. Advocates and addictions experts say they would like to see the new minister take a holistic approach to the...
