Pubdate: Wed, 26 Oct 2016
Source: Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC)
Copyright: 2016 Times Colonist
Contact:  http://www.timescolonist.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/481
Series: http://www.timescolonist.com/news/fentanyl

THE POLITICS OF BATTLING A 'POISON'

B.C. Health Minister Terry Lake wants the federal government to take
action to stop other countries from smuggling deadly fentanyl into
Canada. Meanwhile, a Nanaimo physician is pushing the provincial
government to step up funding for drug-addiction clinics.

B.C. Health Minister Terry Lake lies awake at night worrying and
wondering why the federal government is allowing other countries to
smuggle deadly fentanyl into our country.

"There's a headline in the Kamloops paper today," Lake said in an
interview last Friday. "A young man at a wedding using cocaine and he
died. And this is a story we've heard again and again and again. That
is not addiction. This is poisoning."

If any other chemical agent poisoning Canadians were coming through
our borders, the federal government would try to stop that poison from
coming in, Lake said.

"We need at the highest levels to figure out a way to do something
about these poisonous chemicals coming in from other countries," Lake
said. "Our government needs to talk to those governments and make them
aware Canadians are being poisoned through activities in their countries."

Lake is pressing the federal government to move quicker on legislation
to restrict pill presses and to make the application process for
supervised consumption sites faster and simpler.

Under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, pill presses used in
the illicit manufacturing of controlled substances can be considered
offence-related property and seized by law enforcement.

Federal Health Minister Jane Philpott has confirmed that she intends
to bring forward legislative options on the issue of pill presses.

"At the health ministers meeting this past week in Toronto, I was very
passionate about the need for other provinces to be aware of what's
going on in B.C. and in Alberta, and that they get ready," Lake said.

He believes the most important thing the province can do is continue
its efforts. "We've used every tool we can think of in our tool box.
Soon you will see advertising on major television to create the
awareness and continue what we've done on social media."

Lake is cautiously optimistic that the number of deaths from illicit
drug overdoses is stabilizing. The latest statistics released by the
B.C. Coroners Service show 555 people have died of illicit drug
overdoses this year. Fentanyl was detected in 61 per cent of the
deaths from January through August. There were 80 illicit-drug
overdoses in January, 76 in March, 65 in April.

"So 56 in September is among the lowest third of the first nine
months. Had we not done what we've done, I fear the numbers would be
much, much higher than they are," Lake said.

First responders, the B.C. Centre for Disease Control and health
authorities are all involved in creating awareness and preventing overdoses.

The government is on track to create 500 extra treatment beds for
2017, but treatment beds are not the only answer, Lake said.

"You don't necessarily need to be in a residential program to find
treatment. There are all kinds of different approaches. You have to be
really cautious not to think there's any one solution. Everyone agrees
how to fix a broken arm - but when you come to mental health and
substance-use issues, different things work for different people."

Although the government has done an enormous amount of work, Lake
knows it will never seem enough for families affected by this tragedy.
"But I can assure all those families this is something we are working
extremely hard on and we've done an awful lot that has prevented
hundreds and hundreds of deaths."

Clayton Pecknold, director of police services, is co-chairman of the
task force on overdose response formed by Premier Christy Clark in
July. He believes B.C.'s co-ordinated response involving both health
and law enforcement is the right approach to the fentanyl-overdose
crisis.

Other provinces are sitting up and taking note of what's happening in
B.C., Pecknold said.

The antidote naloxone is now in the hands of 6,000 to 9,000 police
officers in B.C.

"We're definitely ahead of the game here," Pecknold said. "The RCMP
nationally came out to issue naloxone to its members ... That's the
result of our push. We said: 'Get on it. Get on it fast.' "

Pecknold is also pushing for a national strategy on interdiction at
the borders. Like the health minister, he believes the Canadian
government should be putting pressure on the Chinese and Mexican
governments to crack down on the "poison" smuggled into our country.

Most of Canada's illicit fentanyl supply is manufactured in China. It
is ordered online and mailed in packages weighing less than 30 grams,
which Canada Border Services Agency officers are not allowed to open
without the consent of the recipient. More than a million packages
under 30 grams come into Canada from China every month.

When she created the task force, Clark called on the agency to search
small packages for fentanyl. That hasn't happened yet, Pecknold said.

Canada Border Services Agency officers need to be given the equipment,
training and legal authority to intercept the drugs, he said.

Two weeks ago, Victoria police announced they are working with the
City of Victoria and Island Health to set up a safe-consumption site.
Acting Police Chief Del Manak said the department supports supervised
consumption sites if they're part of an approach that incorporates
comprehensive treatment services.

Pecknold knows communities are concerned about public disorder
stemming from safe consumpton sites. "But it's been proven that safe
consumption reduces harm and saves lives, so we just ask people to
look at it very much from a health perspective."

Pecknold, who was a young constable during the 1980s' Wars on Drugs,
said there has been a huge evolution in how people now look at
addiction as a health issue that can be treated.

"Whether you are a police officer or a health professional, we're all
about saving lives and helping treat addiction. But when it comes to
those who profit from addictions and the misery of others, including
organized crime, we take a different approach.

"I have no mercy for them."
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MAP posted-by: Matt