BC MSTH Day Of Action - April 14th, 2021
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, April 12, 2021
B.C. REACHES 5TH ANNIVERSARY OF PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY
ACTION REQUIRED ON ILLICIT TOXIC DRUGS
Victoria, B.C. - On April 14, BC Moms Stop the Harm advocates will mark the five-year anniversary date of the public health emergency of the illicit drug epidemic as toxic drug deaths continue to rise.. Advocates in the communities listed below will be gathering to protest and demand that the provincial government urgently provide an immediate life-saving response to end the ongoing deaths. Since the declaration of the provincial health emergency in April 2016, over 7,000 British Columbians have lost their lives due to a toxic, illicit drug supply.
Moms Stop the Harm is urgently demanding that the provincial government enact an immediate distribution of safe pharmaceutical alternatives to keep people safe while it scales up support to address the needs of those who struggle with a substance-use disorder. British Columbia is losing 5.5 people per day due to a highly toxic drug supply and 2020 has seen a 75% jump in annual overdose deaths. The ongoing number of deaths is evidence that in the past five years our current response to this crisis is not enough to save lives.
“We are calling on our provincial government to immediately implement a safe and regulated supply of drugs to those people with substance use disorder (addiction),” said Leslie McBain, Co-Founder of Moms Stop the Harm. “Substance-use disorder is the only medical condition for which we force people onto the streets to buy their medicine: illicit, toxic drugs that originate with organized crime.”
Leading provincial advocates including B.C.’s Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, and Chief Coroner, Lisa Lapointe, are stating that more must be done.
"It's a terrible example of a catastrophic failure of public policy, in my mind, which urgently needs to be modernized,” said Donald McPherson, Canadian Drug Policy Coalition.
In her special report in 2019, ‘Stopping the Harm’, Dr. Henry called on the federal government to move toward “regulating access to currently controlled drugs, with a focus on harm reduction associated with the use of those substances, as well as the harms associated with the current prohibition-based regulatory regime and its application.” She also called on the provincial government to implement immediate action, recommending the B.C. government “urgently move to decriminalize people who possess controlled substances for personal use.”
“I applaud efforts made to date in the decriminalization effort, including the work done by the City of Vancouver and Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, but with more than five people in our province dying each day from this crisis and many more impacted with long-term health impacts from non-fatal overdose events, we need to take bolder action and it needs to be done now.”
The Overdose Crisis Facts! (Coroners Service)
7,000+ people have died since 2016
2020 records the highest total deaths in one year at 1,716
There has been a 75% jump in annual overdose deaths
Fentanyl has increased from 5% in 2012 to 82% in 2020
Links to learn more:
Moms Stop The Harm
BC Centre On Substance Use https://www.bccsu.ca/journal-articles/
Canadian Drug Policy Coalition https://drugpolicy.ca
Moms Stop the Harm (MSTH) is a network of Canadian families impacted by substance-use related harms and deaths. We advocate to change failed drug policies and provide peer support to grieving families and those with loved ones who use or have used substances. For more information, visit https://www.momsstoptheharm.com.
Moms Stop the Harm Day of Action scheduled activities with contact information:
Vancouver
MSTH is joining Drug User Liberation Front at 2:00 in Downtown Eastside
1.5 k walk
Contact: MSTH Advocate, Deb Bailey
604 970-0416
dhbailey@telus.net
Kamloops
Walk by visual awareness display
Labyrinth shoe display in Riverside Park with the shoes representing the people that have been lost in Kamloops
Large window display recognizing the 5 year anniversary of the declaration of the health emergency in BC
Contact: MSTH Advocate, Sandra Tully
250-320-1015
sltully99@gmail.com
Powell River
“Halt Overdose through Prevention and Education” Display at Powell River General Hospital for the week
A 10 person standing vigil will take place in front of the Hospital calling for Action, holding white crosses and signs reading “What’s the Plan?” John Horgan. Participants will be handing out Narcan.
Contact: MSTH Advocate, Darlana Treloar
(604) 483-9059
darlana.treloar@gmail.com
Victoria
Gathering at noon-1:30 pm at the Parliament Buildings
Speakers including Leslie McBain, Dr. Bernie Pauly, Corey Ranger & City Councillor, Marianne Alto
Families will be standing a safe distance apart holding portraits of loved ones lost.
Contact: MSTH Advocate, Jennifer Howard
250-889-5926
Media Contact:
Please contact info@momsstoptheharm.com for media inquiries.