The isolation protocols of the COVID-19 pandemic that kept people from gathering in groups contributed to an increase in drug overdose deaths in British Columbia, says a health expert.
The BC Coroners Service reports almost 13,000 people have died from illicit drug overdoses since the health emergency was declared. “That is one of the side-effects of our intervention,” she said. “We have to own it. We have to measure it. And we have to make sure that the next time we contemplate these broad societal interventions we immediately consider and measure not just the effects of the intervention but the side-effects as well.”
Drug treatment policies and programs must have the same status as any other health service, she said. B.C.’s decriminalization of small amounts of hard drugs is a program that must continue, she said, despite concerns by some local governments and residents about public drug use in places used by children.