British ColumbiaB次元官网网址檚 new health minister says sheB次元官网网址檚 aiming for more treatment beds and fewer deaths in a revamped approach to the provinceB次元官网网址檚 drug overdose crisis.
It comes after David EbyB次元官网网址檚 newly elected government eliminated the stand-alone Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions, which advocates say had no B次元官网网址渢eeth.B次元官网网址�
The former ministry was created in 2017 to provide co-ordinated responses to the toxic drug crisis, which has killed more than 15,000 people in the past eight years, but it has now been absorbed into the Health Ministry.
B次元官网网址淐ertainly, I really do think the time is right to fold the ministry back into the Ministry of Health,B次元官网网址� said Josie Osborne, who was appointed health minister last week, replacing former minister Adrian Dix.
B次元官网网址淚 think weB次元官网网址檙e in a much better position to expedite action and decision making,B次元官网网址� Osborne said in an interview. B次元官网网址淣ow is the time to bring that together. The premierB次元官网网址檚 been very clear he expects an all-of-government approach to this.B次元官网网址�
The B.C. Coroners Service says 1,749 people have died of toxic drug overdoses so far this year. Last year the service reported 2,551 overdose deaths, the most ever recorded in a single year in the province.
B次元官网网址淲e are going to do everything possible that we can to reduce the number of deaths and the impacts on people and families,B次元官网网址� Osborne said. B次元官网网址淭his is one of the toughest challenges our government, our society, that B.C. faces and one of our governmentB次元官网网址檚 top priorities. The key here is helping people and doing everything we can from all different approaches to reduce the number of deaths and to help people recover and be well.B次元官网网址�
B.C. drug policy advocates who are calling on the government to support more safe supply and drug decriminalization policy initiatives say they will watch for signs that the changes, and OsborneB次元官网网址檚 appointment, result in shifts in direction and approaches.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 good because the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions wasnB次元官网网址檛 ever really set up to succeed,B次元官网网址� said DJ Larkin, executive director of the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition and an adjunct professor at the faculty of health sciences at Simon Fraser University.
B次元官网网址淚t didnB次元官网网址檛 have the budget or the authority to do what needed to happen and it set expectations they couldnB次元官网网址檛 meet,B次元官网网址� Larkin said. B次元官网网址淚t didnB次元官网网址檛 have the teeth. That sets up people for disappointment because they gather the data. They get the expert input. They get the ideas but they didnB次元官网网址檛 have the teeth to make it happen.B次元官网网址�
Leslie McBain, co-founder of Moms Stop the Harm, a harm-reduction advocacy group, said sheB次元官网网址檚 looking forward to the ministry change because B次元官网网址渨e have not got very far in terms of the toxic drug crisis.B次元官网网址�
She said she believed the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions was B次元官网网址渁 little bit hooped,B次元官网网址� because it fell under the health ministry but had little power.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 optimistic now, of course,B次元官网网址� said McBain. B次元官网网址淚 think change is better than being stuck in a place where there hasnB次元官网网址檛 been great movement. These seven or eight years weB次元官网网址檝e been waiting for things to improve and they have not. So, with a change, thereB次元官网网址檚 hope.B次元官网网址�
But Larkin and McBain, whose son Jordan died of an overdose more than a decade ago, say they will continue to push Osborne and the NDP government to support efforts to back decriminalization and safe supply efforts.
The government flatly rejected calls from the provinceB次元官网网址檚 chief coroner Lisa Lapointe earlier this year to provide non-prescription access to controlled drugs.
It also rolled back a decriminalization pilot project after political and public outcry over open drug use.
B次元官网网址淒ecriminalization has been basically gutted by the premier,B次元官网网址� McBain said. B次元官网网址淚t needs to be strengthened rather than gutted for people to be able to use drugs safely.B次元官网网址�
Larkin said advocates intend to push Osborne and the government to continue to initiate policy reform towards more decriminalization of drugs.
B次元官网网址淭here are hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people every year who use unregulated drugs. That is the source of this problem. If we want to save heath care dollars, policing dollars and reinvest in communities we need to deal with the unregulated drug supply, and that means changing the law,B次元官网网址� Larkin said.
Osborne acknowledged the issues of decriminalization, safe supply and involuntary care, but said as a new minister she is looking to address the overdose crisis by reaching out to agencies, communities and people.
B次元官网网址淩ight now whatB次元官网网址檚 ahead of me is learning about and listening to people, communities and all the agencies and organizations to understand the real on-the-ground impacts of different approaches to this,B次元官网网址� she said.
