Some Victoria councillors are calling on the province to provide a safer drug supply to drug users at risk of overdose.
In a motion to be debated by councillors Thursday, councillors Sarah Potts, Jeremy Loveday, Marianne Alto and Ben Isitt note that it has been two years since B.C. declared a public health emergency due to increased overdoses, yet the number of overdose deaths continues to rise "due to an unpredictable and highly toxic drug supply."
They are recommending the province ensure that people at risk of overdose have access to safer alternatives.
An estimated 42,000 people "inject toxic substances" in B.C. and "it is not possible for the treatment system to rapidly increase services to manage this number of people as 'patients' within a medical treatment model," says the resolution.
B.C. had more than 1,400 illicit drug overdose deaths in 2018 of which about 80 per cent were linked to the opioid fentanyl in the illicit drug supply.
