April death rates highest in Northern Health and Vancouver Coastal Health
2019 Vancouver study found 30% of participants made safer choices after using take-home test
SafePoint in Surrey has seen 300,000 visits from 3,533 people, with 2,845 drug poisonings reversed
Courtenay-Alberni MP’s Bill C-216 aimed to legislate health-based approach to substance use
Health Canada nearly halved requested personal possession amount in approval May 31
Promote safe supply as best answer to overdose deaths
Personal possession of up to 2.5 grams to be allowed for three years beginning Jan. 31, 2023
Only 22 per cent of excess deaths during research period are directly attributed to COVID-19
When someone overdoses at VANDU, pups Guess and Joy are quick to alert the nearest human
165 people died in total, down from 174 in February and 207 in January
Jenny Matthews said drug users who live in non-urban areas often can’t get their drugs tested for contaminants
‘They were wanted. They were real. They were loved.’
‘Usually, you just go to sleep… wake up later and you’re fine. But this night I wasn’t.’
Calls have nearly tripled since 2015, BCEHS says
Chilliwack had already lost record-high number 46 souls to drug overdose by end of October
Indigenous people in B.C. are 5 times more likely to overdose and 3 times more likely to die
Problem compounded by COVID, leaving youth struggling with boredom and restricted access to services