{"id":19966,"date":"2024-04-26T16:51:58","date_gmt":"2024-04-26T23:51:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drugpolicy.ca\/?p=19966"},"modified":"2024-04-26T17:30:57","modified_gmt":"2024-04-27T00:30:57","slug":"for-immediate-release-province-moves-to-circumvent-b-c-supreme-court-harm-reduction-nurses-slam-recipe-for-preventable-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.drugpolicy.ca\/fr\/for-immediate-release-province-moves-to-circumvent-b-c-supreme-court-harm-reduction-nurses-slam-recipe-for-preventable-death\/","title":{"rendered":"FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Province moves to circumvent B.C. Supreme Court, harm reduction nurses slam \u201crecipe for preventable death\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Victoria, B.C. | April 26, 2024 \u2014 <\/strong>The Harm Reduction Nurses Association<\/a> is profoundly frustrated and disappointed to hear the British Columbia provincial government\u2019s announcement that they have sought permission from the Federal government to recriminalize all people who are at risk of dying from the unregulated drug crisis who lack access to housing or 24\/7 safer use spaces in their communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe B.C. government\u2019s actions today will put people who use drugs and people who rely on public space at further risk of harm and death,\u201d says Corey Ranger of the Harm Reduction Nurses Association. \u201cWe all want and deserve communities where all people, whether they use drugs or not, can access safety and well-being. By imposing these restrictions on the decriminalization pilot without offering real solutions like expanding overdose prevention services and access to housing, the province has declared some lives unworthy of saving.\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The BC Supreme Court injunction<\/a> to prevent Bill 34<\/a>, the Restricting Public Consumption of Illegal Substances Act,<\/em> from coming into force found that the province\u2019s proposed restrictions on decriminalization would lead to irreparable harm. The Harm Reduction Nurses Association has previously reached out<\/a> to the Province with an offer to collaborate to address concerns without causing further harm, through a range of legal and policy changes that would better protect the lives of people currently at risk of overdose and increase public safety. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRather than focus on solutions appropriate to the eight-year emergency we are in and thousands of lives lost, the Province has chosen to do an end-run around that court decision,\u201d says DJ Larkin, co-counsel for HRNA and executive director of the <\/strong>Canadian Drug Policy Coalition<\/strong><\/a>. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis pushes people who use drugs out of sight, to covert and isolated use. Combined with a toxic and unpredictable drug supply, that is a recipe for preventable drug poisoning death. We don\u2019t want people to die hidden in alleyways,\u201d says Ranger. \u201cWe don\u2019t want any more families to have to grieve their loved ones. We want effective solutions. And we know that criminalization is no solution. This is a step back.\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

HRNA members say B.C.\u2019s actions directing healthcare workers<\/a> in hospitals to follow policies that \u201cprohibit drug possession, use and purchasing of illicit drugs,\u201d will further impede nurses\u2019 ability to ethically provide compassionate and life-saving care to people who use drugs. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPrinciples of equity, autonomy and justice are embedded within nursing regulatory professional practice requirements,\u201d says Michelle Danda of HRNA. \u201cThese policy directives will further marginalize and stigmatize people who use drugs and create division between nurses and patients as opposed to a community to support care. We need nurses to unite around compassionate, evidence-informed care.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo keep everyone safer \u2013 including nurses and all healthcare workers \u2013 we need widespread access to safer use spaces, including inhalation services,\u201d says Ranger. \u201cWe can achieve safety without resorting to punitive measures.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

HRNA has outlined a number of actions the Province could take that would help, not harm, including: <\/p>\n\n\n\n