British Columbia’s former chief coroner says a new study linking safer supply and decriminalization to a rise in opioid overdose hospitalizations doesn’t provide the full picture on the effectiveness of the province’s drug policies.
Lisa Lapointe, who retired from the post last year, says the study published in JAMA Health Forum on Friday used data up to the end of 2023 and did not capture the “significant” decrease in opioid-related deaths in B.C. in 2024 — the lowest rate since 2020.
Lapointe also cautions against using the report’s findings as an indication that decriminalization of illicit drugs has not worked, noting that “the number of deaths grew exponentially under the criminalization program” that preceded the current policy.
The Ministry of Health says in a statement that it “continues to carefully examine all emerging evidence to inform policy” but adds a number of health professionals, researchers and academics have raised concerns about the study.
The ministry says those concerns include the toxicity of B.C.’s drug supply during the study period from the start of 2016 to the end of 2023, which increased when the border was closed during the pandemic, prompting criminal groups to mix “in new drugs like benzodiazepines that do not respond to naloxone.”
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The study says drug decriminalization and safer supply were associated with increased opioid overdose hospitalizations, but there were no change in deaths, indicating neither policy mitigated the opioid crisis that has claimed more than 16,000 lives in B.C. since 2016.
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