Closing Gaps, Reducing Barriers: Expanding the Response to the Toxic Drug and Overdose Crisis

Safer Supply: BC has been at the forefront of providing individuals with a prescribed safer supply of substances since the government issued original guidance to prescribers in March 2020. The Committee supports the government’s current policy as a way to save lives given the increasingly toxic drug supply and as part of the substance use continuum of care; however, the Committee heard about several challenges faced by those seeking a prescribed safer supply of substances. These include a lack of prescribers and barriers for users including the need for prescriptions, witnessed daily doses, and pharmaceutical alternatives that are not strong enough to prevent withdrawal symptoms or that are available in preferred modes of consumption, such as smoking. Noting the important role that the regulatory colleges and professional associations of physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, and pharmacists play in BC’s health care system, the Committee recommends urgent collaboration with these organizations to identify and resolve barriers to prescribing. It also recommends assessing the current policy and clinical guidelines for prescribing safer supply to limit barriers and to ensure a range of appropriate prescribed pharmaceutical alternatives are made available. The Committee recognizes the newness of the current approach, and that any change to the requirement for a prescription would require an exemption from the federal Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. As such, the Committee recommends that assessment and evaluation continue, and that the findings of these evaluations drive engagement with the federal government and decisions on whether alternative models of providing a safer supply of substances should be trialed to scale up the response.