Up in Smoke
B.C.’s plans to open safe inhalation sites should be a priority.
By Saffina Jinnah
The need for harm reduction to address the housing crisis and support those without a home in British Columbia is imminent. Harm reduction is often overlooked when developing and implementing housing policies. As of 2018 there are well over 7, 500 people experiencing homelessness throughout the province with upwards of 35 percent living outside or on the street. This coupled with the on-going overdose crisis that has been exasperated by the pandemic is a deadly mix particularly for those living alone and/or are unhoused. The border closure between Canada and the United States has disrupted the illegal drug supply causing local street drugs to be more contaminated than ever as they are cut with a variety of other ingredients including high levels of fentanyl and carfentanyl. This epidemic within the pandemic has been fuelled by increased isolation and limited access to services. Many are using alone and social services are often operating at half their capacity because of public health orders. This leaves those living alone, especially those living unhoused, at an increased risk of overdosing and creating a greater demand for safe and/or supervised inhalation sites and services. In British Columbia, 954 people died from COVID-19 in 2020 and 1,716 died from drug overdose/toxicity.
40
THE PERCENTAGE OF OVERDOSE/TOXICITY DEATHS BY INHALATION AS A MODE OF CONSUMPTION BETWEEN 2016 AND 2019.
According to the B.C. Coroners Services Report released in June 2020, between 2016 and 2019, overdose/toxicity deaths from inhalation increased almost 12 percent from 28.3 to 40.1. This further confirms the growing trend of inhalation as the most common mode of illicit drug consumption and the need for safe inhalation sites. During this same period, intravenous injection declined by 12 percent.
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THE PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE BETWEEN THE AGES OF 15 AND 29 WHO DIED OF DRUG OVERDOSE/TOXICITY BY INHALATION IN 2016 AND 2017.
Smoking and inhalation are the most common mode of consumption among youth. This is often how youth are introduced to illicit drug use and the belief that smoking reduces the risk of overdose.
12
ADDITIONAL SITES/SERVICES PROMISED AS OF AUGUST OF 2020.
The City of Vancouver first made this recommendation in 2018, and while the majority of recommendations have been met, these additions continue to be delayed. In August of 2020, the Provincial Government released a statement supporting $10.5 million in funding to accelerate the response to the ongoing overdose crisis and the highly toxic drug supply due to COVID-19. This included 17 safe injection sites and 12 safe inhalation sites/services. Since then, no new safe inhalation sites or services have been provided.
454
THE NUMBER OF DRUG OVERDOSE/TOXICITY DEATHS THAT OCCURRED IN HOTELS, MOTELS, ROOMING HOUSES, SINGLE-ROOM-OCCUPANCY RESIDENCES (SROS), SHELTERS SOCIAL HOUSING, AND SUPPORTIVE HOUSING IN 2020.
The 2020 Homeless Count in Metro Vancouver found that, in Vancouver, 2,095 residents identified as homeless including 547 people living on the street and 1,548 people living in sheltered locations including emergency shelters, detox facilities, safe houses, hospitals, and those with no fixed address.
0
NEW INHALATION SITES OR SERVICES SINCE THE FUNDING ANNOUNCEMENT SIX MONTHS AGO.
As of March 2021, no new sites or services have been opened despite the increasing need and new funding support.
4
SAFE INJECTION AND INHALATION SITES THAT WERE IN OPERATION BEFORE THE PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT MANDATED THAT MORE SITES BE OPENED.
In B.C., as of March 2021, there were four sites operating. Overdose Prevention Society in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside has been in operation since 2016. SafePoint is located in Surrey and operated by Lookout Housing and Health Society. The Warm Zone in Abbotsford is operated by SARA for Women, and in Victoria on the island, Rock Bay Landing is operated by Victoria Cool AiD Society.
1,716
THE NUMBER OF SUSPECTED DRUG OVERDOSES/DRUG TOXICITY DEATHS IN 2020 IN THE PROVINCE.
This is a 74 percent increase from 2019. It highlights the weight of the COVID-19 pandemic on this ten-year crisis and the need for safe injection and inhalation sites as well as a safe supply. Between 2010 and 2020, there have been 8,741 overdose/drug toxicity deaths in BC.
