B.C. health officer recommends expanding safer-supply programs, but province rejects idea
British Columbia's provincial health officer has recommended that the province expand its safer supply program, but the NDP government has quickly rejected the idea.
In a report released Tuesday, Dr. Bonnie Henry said the current safer supply program is not meeting the needs of all people who use drugs, and that expanding the program would help to reduce overdose deaths.
The safer supply program provides people who use drugs with a regulated supply of opioids, in order to reduce the risk of overdose. The program has been shown to be effective in reducing overdose deaths, and Dr. Henry said that expanding the program would save lives.
However, the NDP government has said that it will not expand the safer supply program. In a statement, Mental Health and Addictions Minister Sheila Malcolmson said that the government is "committed to evidence-based approaches to reducing overdose deaths," but that it does not believe that expanding the safer supply program is the best way to do that.
The government's decision has been met with criticism from some health advocates, who say that the government is putting ideology ahead of evidence.
More than 14,000 people have died of drug poisoning in B.C. since the public health emergency was declared in 2016.
Early independent research shows that prescribed safer supply has benefits — it reduces the risk of overdose, improves health outcomes and supports people to access addiction treatment and recovery.
A report from B.C.'s provincial health officer recommends the province expand its so-called safer supply.
A new report from Dr. Bonnie Henry has called on the B.C. government to broaden the availability and types of prescribed safer supply.
B.C.'s provincial health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, has revealed her recommendations for a safer drug supply in the province.
NDP government has swiftly rejected a recommendation from the province's top doctor that B.C. expand its safer supply.
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