BC Conservatives condemn 'harm reduction' kits offering free crack pipes, 'snorting kits'
'They’re shocking actually. They’re unsupervised, they’re right outside. Anyone can have access,' Gwen O’Mahony, a candidate for the Nanaimo-Lantzville riding said.
The BC Conservative Party is demanding that so-called “harm reduction” vending machines outside some of the province’s hospitals be removed.
The machines provide drug addicts with supplies to use substances, including pipes and snorting kits.
“Let’s get a free crack pipe and a cocaine smoking kit,” Gwen O’Mahony, a candidate for the Nanaimo-Lantzville riding said in a social media post on Monday.
O’Mahony says she feels strongly after having recently lost her sister to a fatal overdose.
British Columbia Provincial Health Officer Bonnie Henry is calling for more safe consumption sites to be opened as the province continues to deal with the opioid crisis.https://t.co/CYGAAuymgj
— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) May 3, 2024
The Island Health 'Care and Connection' kiosk is located just steps away from the emergency room at Nanaimo’s hospital, with another kiosk at North Island Hospital in Campbell River. The kiosk at Victoria General was removed in mid-December due to limited space and fire alarm issues.
“They’re shocking actually. They’re unsupervised, they’re right outside. Anyone can have access,” said O’Mahony to CHEK News.
Free crack pipes & cocaine snorting kits Vending Machine located directly outside the Nanaimo Hospital ER
— Gwen O'Mahony (@gwenomahony) August 27, 2024
The sound of children playing in background as I shoot this video
Yet another example of enabling addiction instead of offering treatment#bcpoli pic.twitter.com/hLvx17jay6
“Any age group and as a person who’s had family members struggling with addiction our concern is that they’re a trigger to use because people go to hospitals to detox. People go to hospitals to get well and come outside, have a smoke break, and there you are. You’re confronted with getting a free crack pipe.”
The Conservative Party of BC says it condemns the machines and calls them enabling.
“There are videos that actually show you how to do drugs. That is probably one of the most shocking aspects of the clip that I sent out, and that’s the feedback that I’m getting is what are we doing? Are we normalizing drug use? Are we actually trying to steer people away from using drugs?” asked O’Mahony.
Premier David Eby is calling for a review of harm reduction vending machines, which were introduced last fall as part of a pilot project by Island Health, aiming to reduce overdose deaths and infections.
Located outside the emergency rooms of Victoria General Hospital, North Island Hospital in Campbell River, and Nanaimo Regional General Hospital, the 'Care and Connection' kiosks were funded by the Mental Health and Addictions Ministry at a cost of $2,000 per month for leasing and stocking. So far, the three machines have dispensed over 1,100 harm reduction and disease prevention items.
Mental health and addictions minister Jennifer Whiteside will oversee a review of the drug supplies “that don’t involve direct contact between a service provider and somebody struggling with addiction,” Eby said at a press conference, reports the Times Columnist.
The Department of Health is looking into more regulatory measures on alcohol. This comes after another proposal that will mandate cancer warnings on liquor, beer, and wine.https://t.co/shwqWb1tow
— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) August 9, 2024
“We want to make sure that people are in contact with the system, that they’re talking to a doctor or a nurse or a social worker or somebody to get them connected into the system, and we also want to keep as many people alive as possible.”
About 15,000 people have died of the toxic drug supply in the province since it was declared a public health emergency in 2016.
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