Kanada. Canada’s Safe-Supply Vending Machines Project Is Even More Important Now
Kanada. Canada’s Safe-Supply Vending Machines Project Is Even More Important Now
Due to the drastic increase in opioid–involved overdoses, British Columbia declared a public health emergency in 2016. Fentanyl was in town, contributing to thousands of deaths. The nationwide overdose crisis killed about 11 Canadians a day between January 2016 and September 2019. Something had to change, and an innovation pioneered by Dr. Mark Tyndall—helpful for any community impacted by poverty and drug-related problems, but more relevant than ever amid COVID-19 social distancing—represents an important step forward.
Tyndall saw the need to provide a safe supply of drugs to people, removing the possibility of adulteration, in a way that supported drug-user autonomy. His idea was to make the opioid hydromorphone (Dilaudid) available to people who use opioids—in general, but ultimately through “vending machines” in a project called MySafe. (Filter, USA, 05.05.2020)