(OTTAWA) Although preliminary studies of safer drug delivery programs seem promising, they are not meeting the needs of many of those at risk of illicit drug poisoning, experts say.
Posted at 5:31 p.m.
According to the federal government, these studies show that the ten safer supply pilot projects already in place in British Columbia, Ontario and New Brunswick have been beneficial.
In particular, there are reports of a change in drinking habits, leading to a reduced risk of an overdose and a drop in the consumption of street drugs.
Project participants also indicated that they were less stressed, had greater stability and had more time in the day to find and keep a job.
A researcher at the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research at the University of Victoria explained that the evaluation was primarily aimed at the effect on participants’ lives. Gillian Kolla also liked that the analysis addressed the challenges they encountered.
“These challenges can actually go a long way in informing the development of these programs, as they are seen as a possible response to the overdose crisis in Canada,” argued Ms.me Kolla, who co-authored the study for the London Procurement Program.
But Hugh Lampkin, a supervisor at an injection room in Vancouver, said his experience accessing one of the pilots was not as positive.
The program required participants to come once or twice a day to get medicine, which he says makes no sense.
He also questions the lack of criticism in the first results; the fact that everything seems perfect and that everyone seems to appreciate the initiative.
“It is impossible for the government to propose a program and the people in the program have no criticism. »
Corey Ranger, a nurse who runs another such program in Victoria, says the results are similar to those he has seen on his own.
Programs have very limited ability to prescribe a safe supply of drugs, often with only one prescriber or organization for an entire city, Ms.me Kolla.
“This falls far short of current needs or capacity for this type of intervention,” she says, noting that existing programs are already operating near maximum capacity.
Mr. Ranger calls for the government to fund other program models such as compassion clubs that provide safe drugs without the user having to present a prescription.
“We need urgent scaling up because while many benefit from working in a medicalized model, many others do not need access to a doctor. They just need access to safe, regulated drugs. »
However, he feels there is a lack of political will to explore non-medical models such as compassion clubs.
Hugh Lampkin wants people who use drugs to be involved in the creation of these programs to ensure their success.
Otherwise, he says, the process is not designed to encourage people to use the programs or distribute substances in a way that works for users.
“That’s where our expertise comes in.”
Good procurement programs prioritize the goals of the people who access them, rather than focusing on the experiences of practitioners or prescribers, argued Ranger, who also co-developed a procurement checklist safer based on feedback from people who use drugs.
Still a lot to do
The federal government recently announced nearly $3.5 million in funding to extend four Safer Supply pilot projects in Toronto, Vancouver and Victoria.
Mental Health and Addictions Minister Carolyn Bennett said Friday that improving mental health and addictions services is a top priority in the government’s plan to strengthen health care in Canada.
Health Canada works with civil society organizations, direct care service providers, academics and people with lived experience to inform government action to reduce overdoses and deaths, and improve the well-being of people who use drugs, she added.
The minister did not respond directly when asked about the possibility of expanding the pilot projects. Mme Instead, Bennett said the government has invested more than $60 million in funding supply projects, while acknowledging that more needs to be done to end this national public health crisis.
Researcher Gillian Kolla also believes much more action is needed to fully address the opioid crisis.
“We really need to address how the stigma towards drug use and people who use it has made it so difficult to make progress in order to have a comprehensive response,” she said. People are dying from an incredibly toxic supply of street drugs. This has been happening for over six years now, and we’ve seen such a slow response. »
This article was produced with the financial support of the Meta Fellowships and The Canadian Press for News.