Advocate for people who use illegal drugs Ann Livingston encourages people who use drugs to form citizen associations that act to solve community problems. (Nathaniel Canuel)

By Jordan Davidson

open dialogue

Drug policy group stops in Nanaimo for dialogue amid ongoing public health emergency

Jun 17, 2022 | 4:51 PM

NANAIMO —A country-wide plan to open up dialogue about the overdose crisis stopped in Nanaimo for its first in-person session.

The Getting to Tomorrow: Ending the Overdose Crisis project consists of 18 public health discussion sessions organized by the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition (CDPC).

Supported by Health Canada, the CDPC is a national network of people working toward public health and human rights-based drug policies.

Drug policy advocate Shane Calder said they listen to community members from all walks of life to try and determine what community-specific approaches are needed when dealing with the drug toxicity crisis.

“There’s just no end to the desire to talk about this. Especially now that we have this new decriminalization pilot project on the part of the provincial and federal governments here in B.C., it’s stoked more conversation.”

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The information sessions have been held virtually throughout the pandemic, with Nanaimo being the one and only planned in-person session.

On June 16, the first of the two-day sessions, Calder heard from about 75 local drug users, health professionals, and average citizens about how this crisis is affecting Nanaimo.

Particpants were divided into breakout groups throughout the day, while also listening to guest speakers. (Nathaniel Canuel)

Reducing stigma, public safety, and housing were some of the main issues talked about.

“Given the rather high rate of homelessness in Nanaimo, it’s certainly above the national average, issues of open drug use are way more upfront. I think the hosts felt it would be more productive if we talked about, what can the community do together to advance a more compassionate and caring community?”

He told NanaimoNewsNOW things like lack of supportive housing, insufficient income support, and the rising costs of living were all factors preventing drug users who want to get help from doing so.

Nanaimo resident Amber McGrath has a history of drug use and spoke about her experiences.

She said trying to navigate recovery options can be difficult, confusing, and nearly impossible if you don’t have the money to put yourself through private treatment.

“You look online and see if you can find a female treatment centre in B.C. that’s covered, and nowhere on their sites does it say ‘covered by B.C. medical care’. So you go through all this stuff, get a little bit of hope, send them an email and then they say they are private. $16,000 a week or $30,000 a month.”

(L-R) Jovonne Johnson, executive director of Risebridge, a non-profit group advocating for marginalized people, local advocate Amber McGrath, drug user advocate Ann Livingston, and drug policy advocate with the CDPC Shane Calder during one of the breakout sessions on June 16. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

McGrath also said the centres she was able to locate which would treat her, were over capacity, having to shut down a portion of their beds due to COVID.

She said that having people with lived experience at all levels of recovery service would really help support patients in treatment.

“Peer support workers should be involved in every service provider, so they can have like a personal view… we kind of think outside of the box and I think more positive stuff can get done that way.”

When McGrath was in her early 20’s, an anonymous phone call about her methamphetamine use caused her to lose custody of her daughter and submit to a drug testing for six months.

“It’s traumatizing. I still cry when I think about it…for someone to say you’re not fit to take care of a child and they’ve never met me? Who the [expletive] are you to say that?”

McGrath said those kinds of experiences, such as being refused treatment at medical centres because she was a drug user, only further alienate users who may hesitate to seek treatment.

“People who’ve used drugs have been traumatized in some way…so they don’t have coping skills. So now you’re going to take their kids. How are they going to cope with that? With more drugs, and they’ll spiral and spiral.”

Now a grandmother, McGrath wanted to share her story in the hope it inspires others to seek treatment.

The CDPC plans on hosting a few more online sessions this fall, with the final report being submitted on March 31, 2023.

From there, the CDPC will present it to all levels of government and then begin working on ways to implement their recommendations.

The drug toxicity crisis in Nanaimo has claimed more than 300 lives locally since 2012, including 15 deaths in Nanaimo in the first four months of this year.

In April 2016 a public health emergency was declared in British Columbia due to soaring numbers of people dying from illicit drugs.

Tainted drugs claimed a record 2,236 lives in the province last year.

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jordan@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @JordanDHeyNow