Opioid crisis prompting treatment increase, recovery advocate
Posted January 18, 2017 5:31 pm.
Last Updated January 18, 2017 7:24 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Despite the record number of overdose deaths, there may be a silver lining to the ongoing opioid crisis according to a former addict turned advocate.
BC Recovery Council Chair Marshall Smith says it was heart wrenching to hear last year’s final overdose death toll, but he’s also seen a dramatic increase in the number of people who have come to his organization seeking help.
“Many of them are citing the heightened level of consequences on the streets as the catalytic factor that propelled them to seek treatment and recovery at this point in time,” he says.
The ongoing epidemic of overdoses and rise of fentanyl-tainted drugs is shining a spotlight on what have been problems in communities for many years.
“I think this crisis is shining an important spotlight on what has been a very serious problem in our community long before this crisis emerged, and is prompting people in positions of power to act, according to Smith.
“Sometimes it takes a crisis like this to mobilize entire systems and make the changes that may be necessary,” he says. “How quickly we can make those changes will be an important factor in how quickly this crisis gets resolved.”
Final numbers from the province put BC’s 2016 overdose death toll at 914, the highest in the province’s history.
Smith joined Minister Terry Lake at today’s news conference, here’s what he has to say in full:
