British Columbia boosts drug-checking service in fight against overdose deaths
VANCOUVER — A shoe box-sized machine is powering a one-year pilot project with the hope of cutting British Columbia’s soaring overdose death rate.
The specialized portable machine costs $60,000 and uses infrared light to test small samples of illicit drugs for contaminants.
Two supervised consumption sites in Vancouver started sharing the machine last week for two days a week each in an effort to determine if drug checking will reduce overdoses.
The Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions is also expanding the use of fentanyl test strips in all supervised consumption and overdose prevention sites.