‘As a police officer, I wasn’t prepared for how powerless I would feel in the face of what happened’
Jenny Matthews said drug users who live in non-urban areas often can’t get their drugs tested for contaminants
‘Usually, you just go to sleep… wake up later and you’re fine. But this night I wasn’t.’
Calls have nearly tripled since 2015, BCEHS says
Indigenous people in B.C. are 5 times more likely to overdose and 3 times more likely to die
Problem compounded by COVID, leaving youth struggling with boredom and restricted access to services
Death toll in B.C. for 2021 has reached 1,782
Distinguishes between street-level trafficker supporting an addiction and higher drug dealer
Chris Lamoureux about to begin studying to be peer support worker
B.C. is the first province to offer a safer supply program
‘We have an obligation to listen to the people who are actually doing this work, and then respond’
Since 2016, the province has lost 7,700 people to toxic drug poisonings
July has brought the death toll for the year to 1,204 deaths
Pledge comes in the wake of revelation funding and supplies had dried up in multiple locations
Three Greater Victoria departments say their funding has dried up, unclear if other forces affected
Chilliwack man speaks about life when he was an addict as part of overdose prevention video series
Health Canada spokesman Mark Johnson said that Justice Canada is reviewing the claim
