File photo: CFJC Today

By Dylana Kneeshaw

SAFE SUPPLY

Safe supply prescriptions in B.C have expanded during pandemic

Mar 12, 2021 | 3:36 PM

KAMLOOPS — To reduce fatalities during BC’s opioid crisis and provide help to those struggling with addictions, the B.C government says it’s taking a hard look at what’s working and what isn’t.

The province says changes are underway to treat addiction as a medical issue rather than a criminal one, but it will take time.

Kamloops RCMP Superintendent Syd Lecky has recently stated it may be time to utilize a safe supply to combat illicit drug related deaths. While speaking to CFJC Today, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Sheila Malcolmson says that form of harm reduction is already in use.

The opioid crisis in B.C has increased the urgency for harm reduction and treatment options. With tainted drugs killing British Columbians at alarming rates, Malcolmson says there are non-toxic options for people who use drugs.

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“We do have safe supply in British Columbia. It’s the only province in Canada that does. We are innovating — but I want people to be super clear about what it is.”

Safe supplies are a replacement measure to ensure people are not taking poisoned drugs. Malcolmson says they need to be prescribed and access to prescriptions was expanded when the pandemic first hit.

“Since the end of March we’ve got a 400 per cent increase of people in British Columbia that are prescribed a prescription alternative to the toxic drug supply,” she says. “That work, though, is ongoing. It has to be done so carefully with the medical community.”

Malcolmson notes it is complex work and the program is expanding with more drugs and more prescribers becoming available.

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