B.C. announces provincewide overdose-crisis action

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      The B.C. government announced new measures today to help combat the growing overdose crisis that was declared a public-health emergency last year.

      In a news release today (September 29), Premier John Horgan said the government is "taking important steps to save lives, end stigma, get communities and people the help they need, and stop addiction before it starts".

      "People are losing their loved ones," Horgan said of the opioid-overdose epidemic that is currently causing an average of four deaths per day in B.C. "Families, communities and front-line workers are carrying an enormous load and it's time to give them the support they need."

      Steps to be taken will make use of some of the $322 million in funding that was allocated in the government's latest budget update. These will include: $15 million over the next three years for a "community crisis innovation fund" to facilitate measures such as early-intervention and prevention programs or new harm-reduction and treatment approaches to addictions; an unspecified amount of funding for expanded and faster access to opioid-addiction treatment and services; $6 million for three years of establishing "broader access to no-cost naloxone kits" in pharmacies across B.C., which will enable anyone to get a free kit and training by the end of this year; $3.4 million for the next two years (starting in 2018) to support first responders and frontline workers through the new Mobile Response Team; and $4.37 million for a public-awareness campaign to run over the next three years.

      Also announced was the allocation of $31.3 million to police agencies and the B.C. Coroners Service during the next three years to protect the public and attempt to halt fentanyl importation and manufacturing.

      The release noted that the coroners service has reported 876 illegal-drug overdose deaths in the province so far this year, with 81 percent of the cases involving fentanyl.

      Judy Darcy, the minister of the new Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions, said in the release: "We are responding to this devastating tragedy with compassion, understanding, and urgent action. Overdoses can happen in any community, in any corner of our province. This is why we're reaching out to partners in business, labour, community organizations and local government as we escalate our response. It will take all of us working together to reach people who need help and solve this crisis."

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