The latest news articles featuring BC Centre on Substance Use.
Why is Canada’s illicit drug supply so deadly and what’s being done about it?
March 18, 2022 | CBC News
Canada’s overdose crisis has worsened during the pandemic, with the number of people dying from illicit drugs soaring to new heights in many provinces. The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) says 2020 was the deadliest year for overdose deaths since it started recording the numbers in 2016...
Canada’s opioid crisis: How families of overdose victims are coping
March 14, 2022 | CTV News
Mary Breen spoke about her daughter, Sophie’s overdose death in a moving and honest obituary a few days after her passing on March 4, 2020, in Guelph, Ont. Sophie was deeply loved by those she left behind and despite all the mental and physical pain she faced, she was resilient and did everything...
207 lives lost to illicit toxic drugs in B.C. in first month of 2022: coroner
March 11, 2022 | CBC News
British Columbia’s horrifying illicit drug overdose crisis continues to claim several lives every day, with the latest statistics from the B.C. Coroners Service showing 207 people died in January due to toxic substances. The numbers, released Friday, reflect the third highest number of deaths...
Scrap thresholds in requests to decriminalize simple drug possession: Canadian coalition
March 10, 2022 | Vancouver Sun
More than 20 advocacy organizations are urging the federal minister of mental health and addictions to not require quantity limits from jurisdictions requesting to decriminalize simple drug possession. Legal and health organizations have asked Carolyn Bennett to waive the need for jurisdictions to s...
Panel calls for urgent action on safer drug supply in B.C. to prevent overdoses
March 09, 2022 | Winnipeg Free Press
VICTORIA – A report into an investigation of 6,007 overdose deaths in British Columbia calls on the province to urgently develop a policy to distribute a safer supply of drugs and offer better health supports with a plan that would see action taken over 30, 60 and 90 days. The death review pan...
