Legally regulated heroin sales is the next step needed to curb the staggering number of overdose deaths in B.C., a new report says – a majority of which were caused by illicit fentanyl.
The report, released Thursday by the B.C. Centre on Substance Use, includes findings from public health researchers, addictions specialists and people with experience of substance use and recovery.
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Dr. Evan Wood, executive director at the Vancouver-based centre, told reporters that fentanyl poisonings, money-laundering affecting the housing market, and organized crime are “fraying” the province.
“As an addiction medicine physician and someone who has spent my career studying solutions to the challenges of addiction, I believe the only path forward for better preventing and treating opioid addiction is to wage economic war on organized crime and to regulate and control the heroin market,” Wood said.
There have been nearly 3,000 deaths from illicit drug overdoses in B.C. since 2017, with roughly 80 per cent caused by illicit fentanyl.
The report recommends the province establish “heroin compassion clubs,” which would give fentanyl-addicted people access to non-fentanyl-adulterated heroin. These clubs would be located at treatment facilities.
The revenue generated through sales would be redirected in-house to provide access and supports for the most vulnerable.
B.C.’s provincial health officer and chief coroner both called for the federal government to allow the province to offer access to legal heroin earlier this month.
The federal government has repeatedly said there is no plan to decriminalize any hard drugs in response to overdose deaths.
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