Emily Wadden, left, runs the Safe Works Access Program (SWAP), an educational program for needle and overdose distribution based in St. Louis. John’s and Corner Brook. Jane Henderson, rightly so, is a harm reduction consultant at Eastern Health. (CBC)
Newfoundland and Labrador damage reduction workers say drug decriminalization is a step in the right direction, but it would not be enough to stop a worsening “drug poisoning crisis.”
Emily Wadden runs the Safe Works Access Program (SWAP), an educational program for needle and overdose distribution based in St. Louis. John’s and Corner Brook. He said the biggest problem facing drug users is an insecure supply of drugs, but that does not mean he is not in favor of decriminalization.
“It’s definitely still something we’d like to see here because any step in the right direction definitely can’t hurt,” Wadden said in a recent interview. “While it may not necessarily prevent overdoses, it can slow down, as you know, arrests and harassment and the challenges of having a criminal record.”
Wadden said it is difficult to quantify overdoses in Newfoundland and Labrador, but the problem seems to be getting worse: he says he knows at least two people who have died from overdoses in the past two weeks.
“It’s almost, I would say, crisis-level,” he said.
According to the federal government’s public health information base, there was a 95% increase in Canadian opioid-only overdose deaths from April 2020 to March 2021 compared to the same period before. of the pandemic, and deaths have since remained high.
In late May, the federal government announced that BC adults could possess up to 2.5 grams of illicit drugs, including opioids, cocaine and methamphetamine as of 2023. The federal government made the decision in response to a request from the BC. government. Vancouver and Toronto Public Health have made similar requests.
Federal Minister for Mental Health and Addictions Carolyn Bennett has said the Liberal government is open to talking to other provinces and municipalities that may want to decriminalize possession and would take “local realities” into account.
CBC News asked the Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Justice and Public Safety if the provincial government is considering decriminalization.
“We continue to work with our federal, provincial and territorial counterparts to examine all options for solutions related to the drug problem,” a department spokesman said in a one-line statement.
Decreased stigma
Although Wadden said he would like to see decriminalization in this province, this would not solve the problem of the supply of toxic drugs.
“Until a big step is taken to address this, you know, we’ll see … continuous increases, you know, of overdoses and overdose deaths,” Wadden said.
Damage reduction experts say the pandemic is underscoring the need for naloxone kits. They are free and can be obtained from Newfoundland and Labrador by calling 811. (David Gunn / CBC)
Jane Henderson, provincial harm reduction consultant at the Center for Excellence for the Treatment of Opioid Addiction, said it was time to take a public health approach to substance use and overdose, which is agree it is a crisis.
“I think the knee reaction is to say, you know, drugs are bad, we criminalize drugs,” he said. “If that worked … we wouldn’t have this conversation.”
Henderson says decriminalization will help substance users avoid having a criminal record for personal possession and may also reduce the stigma associated with substance use.
“It’s a small step away from the punitive way we’ve treated substance users,” he said.
Reducing damage
Both Wadden and Henderson pointed to a safe supply of drugs as the primary solution to toxic drug deaths.
Henderson said there is no “zero evidence” that harm reduction measures such as safe supply encourage drug use; according to her, it does the opposite.
“What we do have evidence is how harm reduction measures can increase the lives of people who use drugs,” he said.
Henderson is also the manager of the provincial take-home naloxone program. Naloxone temporarily reverses the effects of an opioid overdose. Henderson said he is seeing increased demand for the kits, which are free and can be obtained by calling 811.
He said it is essential that people who use substances or have lived experiences help make decisions about harm reduction measures.
“What we’ve been doing so far is just that it hasn’t worked. And we’ve wasted a lot of money on it. And now we know better,” he said.
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