Study links “safe supply,” decriminalization to surge in opioid overdoses

A new study examining drug decriminalization and “safe supply” programs in British Columbia found both policies resulted in more hospitalizations for opioid overdoses.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

A new study examining drug decriminalization and “safe supply” programs in British Columbia found both policies resulted in more hospitalizations for opioid overdoses.

The report also showed that unlike decriminalization advocates claimed, there were no significant reductions in the overall number of opioid related deaths.

The research, conducted by experts from Memorial University in St. John’s, the University of Manitoba and Weill Cornell Medicine in New York, found that so-called safer supply policies alone were linked to 33 per cent more opioid-related hospitalizations. When combined with decriminalization hospitalizations rose by 58 per cent.

While the study relied on data from the Public Health Agency of Canada, these numbers also correlate closely with overdose and drug poisoning data released by British Columbia's Emergency Health Services on overdose response calls year-over-year in the province.

The authors of the study aren't conclusive on what is causing the increase in hospitalizations but do offer some theories.

One theory presented by the authors posits the increase could be due to greater willingness to seek medical help, since decriminalization could “reduce stigma.” Another theory suggests fewer criminal penalties boost overdoses by facilitating diversion of safe-supply.

Regardless, the study was conclusive in its findings that "safe supply” policies and drug decriminalization did not appear to be softening the effects of the opioid crisis in British Columbia in any meaningful sense.

“This cohort study found that neither the safer supply policy nor the subsequent decriminalization of drug possession appeared to alleviate the opioid crisis, the authors said.

“Instead, both were associated with an increase in opioid overdose hospitalizations.”

While the authors of this study failed to demonstrate a link between decriminalization and overdose deaths versus hospitalizations in their British Columbia study, they did note other existing studies on decriminalization of drugs in U.S. states—with one study showing that drug decriminalization in Oregon was associated with a 23 per cent increase in deaths due to unintentional drug overdose.