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VANCOUVER – The chief medical officer of health for Vancouver Coastal Health is calling for a regulated supply of drugs that could replace illegal and deadly substances in response to the overdose crisis.
Dr. Patricia Daly said extending treatment for people with opioid addiction was not enough to eliminate the risk of death, particularly for drug users without access to the health care system. health.
Daly made 21 recommendations in a report focused on services provided by the health authority, which covers an area of more than one million people on the urban and rural coasts of British Columbia.
According to the report, a toxic supply of illicit drugs has detected fentanyl, an opioid 50 times more potent than heroin, in 87% of overdose deaths in the Vancouver Coastal Health Coastal Area in 2018, compared to 25 % in 2015.
According to Daly, while inner-city residents face the highest fatal overdose rate in Vancouver, small rural communities such as Powell River and the Sunshine Coast are also disproportionately affected by the epidemic.
His report indicates that the decriminalization of possession of illicit drugs for personal use would help reduce the social isolation of those who could gain better access to health care, but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his government would not would not do this.
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