Kamloops advocates, support workers mark 10-year anniversary of B.C. toxic drug crisis

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“We can’t keep doing what we’re doing,” Troylana Manson, who lost her son Aaron in April 2021, told CFJC Today. “There is so much politicization going on with this crisis that its preventing governments from moving forward on evidence based solutions.”

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On April 14, 2016, the B.C. government – under former provincial health officer Dr. Perry Kendall and former Health Minister Terry Lake – declared a public health emergency after 474 apparent illicit drug deaths in 2015, a number which was later adjusted to 528 as more investigations were completed.

After a then-record 1,566 deaths in 2018, the situation appeared to have been trending down but there was another increase after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and deaths spiked to a record 2,590 in 2023.

“We are feeling very frustrated,” Manson added. “There have been some changes to what we’ve been doing in the last ten years, which is, you know, a pilot project here and there that maybe addresses five per cent of the 250,000 people who are at risk of dying, because they use unregulated drugs.”

“What we need are some big sweeping changes to this prohibition drug policy.”

Solutions, Manson said, like the three-year decriminalization pilot which was rolled back this year – one that both supporters and some opponents said involved a process that was flawed.

“We have a mixed soup of toxic drugs out there that people do not know exactly what they’re taking,” Manson said. “When they are not getting what they need, they are accessing substances that could help but could also really hurt them.”

While Premier David Eby has said decriminalization “didn’t work,” provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said Monday that she “absolutely” believed “there was political pressure” to stop the three-year trial. Henry also said decriminalization was about people using drugs, not the drugs themselves.

“I think it got mixed up, because it’s very easy to say, ‘Oh, you legalize drugs and that’s the cause of this problem,’ which is, of course, not true and not the way it was meant to be,” Henry said.

Holistic Solution Needed

The ASK Wellness Society sees the impacts of this crisis on an almost daily basis, and it is also calling for a holistic approach instead of Band-Aid solutions.

“We need to link harm reduction services toward treatment,” Executive Officer Bob Hughes said. “We need to use enforcement when necessary and we need to look at what preventative steps we can take to stop this pipeline of young people falling into into the severe addiction crisis that we’re facing.”

Hughes added his staff “wake up every day” wondering whether someone they work with and care for will die because of toxic drugs.

“We hear the wrath of the public who has seemingly lost its compassion for people living with addictions and is blaming it on the person who’s addicted, blaming it on organizations that are desperately trying to just keep people alive,” Hughes continued.

“I think the idea of harm reduction to deal with the immediate crisis was desperate. But I think we’re relying on one stool to hold this up right now, and we’re not doing a good job.”

Increase in Brain Injuries

Also on the front lines is the Kamloops Brain Injury Association (KBIA), which notes a number of people who overdose end up with brain injuries. Executive Director Dave Johnson told CFJC Today that those people aren’t always able or willing to seek help.

“We know they need help but unless they want help, there’s not much we can do,” Johnson said. “And they’re largely still focused on their addiction. For those who do want help, help is available and we will try to get them in contact with addiction specialists.”

Johnson is hoping to see more done to prevent brain injuries caused by toxic drugs, as he notes it’s the drugs causing those injures.

“Those old commercials from the ’80s – ‘This is your brain on drugs.’ There’s truth to that,” Johnson said. “We have people who have an overdose and get a brain injury, but they’re still addicted to the drugs.”

“Getting off of drugs is extremely hard,” he added. “Brain injuries are complicated and we help where we can, but you throw in a brain injury and addictions and quite possibly mental health – these are the folks who are the hardest to help.”

Optimism for the Future

While it’s unclear what the path forward will be, there is optimism that there will be the political will – like there was a decade ago when the public health emergency was declared – to find an end to this crisis.

“I couldn’t even imagine another decade. Frankly, I can barely imagine another year at the rate we’re going,” Hughes said. “As much as we can celebrate there is a modest decline in fatalities, we know the rates of overdoses continue to be unabated.”

Manson also admits the road ahead will likely be a “hard slog,” as she likened the issued to prohibition, noting it was walked back after governments realized thousands of people were dying due to unregulated alcohol.

“Everybody has access to a regulated alcohol source. We need to do the same thing with these substances,” Manson said. “We need to regulate them all so people know what they’re taking, what dose of taking, what the content is.”

“I think that eventually we will have regulation,” she added. “We’ve tried different ways to present the information and I think that politicians and many of our leaders are scared. But being an aggrieved parent, I know that is the only way through.”

Manson was at a rally at the B.C. Legislature organized by advocacy groups including Moms Stop the Harm, Doctors for Safer Drug Policy and the Nanaimo Area Network of Drug Users. They were demanding that politics be put aside so people can get the help they need.

“It’s been five years for me, but what better way for me to actually do some of my grieving than with a group of moms and families who have experienced the same thing as me?” Manson said.