A decade after Insite, drug policy landscape is still being shaped in B.C.
In 2021, the Vancouver-based Drug User Liberation Front approached Health Canada with a proposal.
Lisa Lapointe
B.C. officials push back against 'polarizing rhetoric' from safe supply critics
British Columbia officials have sought to rebut claims that drugs prescribed through the province's safe supply program aimed at curbing overdoses are being re-sold to young people, helping fuel the deadly drug toxicity crisis.
First Nations women in B.C. more likely to die from toxic drugs
Indigenous people, especially women, are dying from toxic drugs at disproportionately high rates in British Columbia as the overdose crisis continues "unabated," nearly seven years after the province first declared a public health emergency, said the top doctor for the First Nations Health Authority.
Coroner reports deaths of homeless people in B.C. rose by 75% in 2021
The toxic drug crisis in British Columbia was a key factor in pushing the number of deaths of homeless people up by 75 per cent in 2021 compared with the year before, the BC Coroners Service says.
More comprehensive services required to curb B.C. drug deaths: doctor
Maria Rantanen did everything she could to stop her son from fatally overdosing, but it wasn't enough.
B.C. drug death toll surpasses 10,000 since 2016 emergency declaration
British Columbia has lost more than 10,000 lives to illicit drugs since the province declared a public health emergency in April 2016, chief coroner Lisa Lapointe says.
B.C. coroner reports more women, older drug users dying from toxic supply
The coroners service in British Columbia says more females are dying from illicit drug use.
B.C. to issue alerts for future heat waves
A two-stage heat response system will be introduced in British Columbia to help people and communities stay safe as temperatures rise and the threat of a deadly heat-related emergency increases.
Panel wants urgent action on safer drug supply in B.C. to prevent overdoses
A report into an investigation of 6,007 overdose deaths in British Columbia calls on the province to urgently develop a policy to distribute a safer supply of drugs and offer better health supports with a plan that would see action taken over 30, 60 and 90 days.
Illicit toxic drugs killed more people in B.C. last year than all other causes combined
Illicit toxic drugs in British Columbia cause more deaths than all other natural causes combined, the province’s chief coroner said Wednesday as she called for an end to old prevention measures that have been "an abject and very costly failure."
2021 had deadliest first six months for drug toxicity in B.C., chief coroner says
British Columbia needs a significant shift in how it treats people who use drugs, the province's chief coroner said on Tuesday, August 31, 2021, after releasing statistics showing 1,011 people died from suspected illicit overdoses from January to June.
British Columbia prepares for soaring heat
British Columbia is gearing up for another heat wave this weekend by opening more cooling centres and redeploying health-care workers as temperatures are expected to soar.