Relief and frustration from critics as B.C. amends safer supply policy

People prescribed alternatives to toxic drugs will no longer be able to take them home or use them without supervision.

B.C.’s NDP government is overhauling its safer supply system, requiring health-care professionals to witness anyone using prescribed alternatives to street drugs.

“We need to know that medications including prescribed alternatives are being used by the person they’re intended for,” said Health Minister Josie Osborne at a news conference Wednesday.

The change came an hour before the first question period of the new legislative session, and after months of criticism that the controversial program allowed diversion of prescribed alternatives like hydromorphone into the wrong hands, fueling gang activity and in some cases causing deaths. The reality of those concerns was underscored by a recently leaked Health Ministry memo acknowledging significant diversion of such drugs.

BC Conservative MLA Elenore Sturko has been a vocal advocate for the change in policy.

“I heard the minister say they would be ending unwitnessed, it made me emotional, because it made me think of the very first time that a parent had called me and their child had died and they found these safe supply hydromorphones in their room,” said Sturko, moments after the announced policy change Wednesday.

The province says about 60 pharmacies have been “bad actors,” allegedly providing kickbacks to users and enabling diversion. An investigation of those pharmacies is ongoing.

Meanwhile, question period was dominated for calls for more action, specifically a public inquiry into diversion flowing from safe supply.

“Now that the premier acknowledges that his public experiment has failed, when will he call a public inquiry?” demanded Sturko in the legislature.

Premier David Eby noted that some users would be less likely to avail themselves of the potentially life-saving safer supply, particularly people in rural areas.

“The unfortunate thing is some people are going to lose access to this program because of a difficult decision to move to witnessed ingestion only,” lamented Eby.

B.C. Conservative MLA Claire Rattee, who represents the Skeena riding, previously battled addiction and was homeless on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. After her experience, she believes more treatment spaces are needed.

“Handing out free drugs is not going to fix this problem – they’re killing people,” she told reporters following question period.

She wants to see the government admit safe supply was a failed experiment.

“For some reason, this government really seems to struggle to actually take responsibility for when they do something that doesn’t play out properly,” Rattee said.