UPDATED: BC ending take-home drug program to reduce diversion of 'safe supply'

VICTORIA — The government of British Columbia has announced the end of the take-home drug use program in an effort to reduce the diversion of "safe supply."

The move comes on the heels of revelations that a significant amount of illicit substances doled out since 2022 have not been consumed by their intended recipients.

Health Minister Josie Osborne said the program will be altered to ensure users consume drugs with a witness. She called the change "significant."

During Question Period on Wednesday,Premier David Eby said that while changing the program would undoubtedly make it harder for some people to access “safe supply” drugs, it was nonetheless “necessary” to tackle diversion.

Osborne said it was a "difficult decision," but echoed Eby that it was needed. She emphasized that the province would "build a spectrum of support that people need," from treatment to recovery.

BC Conservative leader John Rustad called on the BC NDP to launch a public inquiry to give British Columbians answers.

Surrey-Cloverdale MLA Elenore Sturko accused the ruling party of “gaslighting” the people of the province on the safety of “safe supply.”

She pointed out that over the past few years, the amount of drugs being prescribed has skyrocketed, setting the stage for community-level harm.

According to a Ministry of Health presentation leaked earlier this month obtained by the BC Conservative caucus, pharmacists and doctors prescribed 22,418,000 doses of opioids to around 5,000 patients in the province. That's an average of 4,483 per person.

Hydromorphone accounted for 19%, while fentanyl patches, oxycodone, dextroamphetamine sulfate, and morphone sulfate came in at 13%, 7%, 2%, and 1%, respectively.

A "significant portion" of the drugs in question were "not being consumed by their intended recipients." Instead, "prescribed alternatives are trafficked provincially, nationally and internationally."