SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – In a radical move to reduce fatal overdoses and severe illnesses, a dispensary in Vancouver is offering up a legal and safer way for drug users to get fentanyl.
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Stephanie Nolen, global health reporter for the New York Times told KCBS Radio that Vancouver has been at the forefront of harm reduction for decades.
"I think the thinking behind the people who have taken this step with the Fentanyl dispensary is yeah know what’s killing people, what's causing the overdose epidemic is that people can’t get safe drugs," Nelson explained.
When people buy drugs from the black market there are a lot of unknowns as to what is in them and how strong they are. The goal of the dispensary is to save lives by providing safe and regulated fentanyl doses.
"Give people who are using fentanyl, who are daily fentanyl users, using extremely large amounts of fentanyl in many cases, give them a government-issued supply of this drug which means they are not relying on crime or sex work or anything else," she said.
She explained that the dispensary has primary health care provided on-site, clean needles and clean supplies to help Fentanyl users be safe. Once they have fallen into a routine of knowing where they can get a safe dose of fentanyl and where they are going to use it then a conversation about other interventions can happen.
"So, the public health care system in British Colombia has done the math and concluded this is a far cheaper way to respond," she said. "And one goal is saving money and the first one is saving lives and it also does that better."
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