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Dana MacInnis was in her early twenties when he started abusing opiates after a knee surgery that went wrong.
"I had access to a lot of opiates and started to tell myself that it was okay to use a little bit of opiates," says MacInnis, sitting on a cream-colored couch at the Overdose Prevention Society. Vancouver, Hastings Street.
"But it's not."
About three people die each day from a drug overdose in British Columbia. Three years ago, the provincial health worker declared a public health emergency in the face of an upsurge in overdoses and the number of drug-related deaths.
Since then, the province has increased the number of safe drinking sites such as the Overdose Prevention Society, and has made naloxone kits to reverse overdose widely available. Health officials say the changes saved about 4,700 lives.
However, officials and critics said that more needed to be done.
Dana MacInnis with Zelda, the emotional support dog of Vancouver's Overdose Prevention Society, Hastings Street. (Maryse Zeidler / CBC)
Dana MacInnis with Zelda, the emotional support dog of Vancouver's Overdose Prevention Society, Hastings Street. (Maryse Zeidler / CBC)
Dr. Bonnie Henry, Provincial Administrator of Public Health, announced that later this month, she will release a report calling for bolder solutions, such as drug alternatives to street drugs and decriminalization. de facto.
"It's all about stigma," said Henry.
"And one of the reasons people consume and die alone, is because they are afraid of having a criminal record, losing their jobs and losing their families, among other things that go with it, "said Henry. .
Those on the front lines, like MacInnis, hope the crisis will end – as long as the province continues to come up with new solutions.
"People must have the audacity to take the necessary steps to end the crisis," MacInnis said. "If they do not, it will continue again and again."
The staff of the Overdose Prevention Society still retains the antidote for overdose Naloxone at hand. (Maryse Zeidler / CBC)
The staff of the Overdose Prevention Society still retains the antidote for overdose Naloxone at hand. (Maryse Zeidler / CBC)
Over the years, MacInnis, 50, has been the victim of at least three car accidents and two workplace accidents as a journeyman carpenter.
He is now using fentanyl. MacInnis says he's tried to stop it three times, but the severe cramps and withdrawal convulsions were too hard to bear. So he tries his luck by buying drugs on the street.
Yet he considers himself lucky.
"I do not really feel for myself, but for other people who do not have access to all the facilities I have," he said.
The Overdose Prevention Society is teeming with medical equipment, with walls adorned with posters warning people of the latest issues affecting drug supply.
The staff at the Overdose Prevention Society knows some of the regulars well.
The staff at the Overdose Prevention Society knows some of the regulars well.
Recently, officials have realized that many products are now badociated with a benzodiazepine-like badogue called etzolam. This deadly combination means that users do not cure overdoses as quickly as they do with the usual antidote.
In the back room, about 10 drug addicts are sitting in open boxes against the wall. Staff waiting, Naloxone ready to use in case someone overdoses – this happens about once a day. At a table in the middle of the room, a man wearing a hat and a coat sleeps deeply.
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