Photo: Moms Stop the Harm

Helen Jennens said that changes to the safe supply program are a step backward.

Changes to the provincial program that provides prescription alternatives to toxic street drugs, is a step backward, a longtime Kelowna advocate for safer supply said.

Helen Jennens has been advocating alongside other members of Moms Stop the Harm for a safe supply for after her boys were both killed by overdoses. When a safe supply was made available through a prescription model, she thought it was a step in the right direction.

But Thursday’s move toward a "witnessed-only" model in which people are supervised while consuming their prescription drugs doesn’t make sense, she said.

“It’s one step forward and then two steps back,” the Kelowna woman said.

“People who have become stable by getting prescribed are now going to be made unstable again because we are disrupting lives that they’ve re-established and sending to them a pharmacy four times a day.”

Imagine, she said, if you were reliant on a medication and you couldn’t take it at home. Rather, you had to travel to a pharmacy or clinic four times a day to get your dose.

The practicality of it alone, she said, makes little sense. She pointed out that she can't even get an appointment to see her doctor most days, so the staffing needed for this shift seems implausible.

“That they didn’t just cut (safe-supply) off is really important but we keep changing things up to make it more and more difficult for people in substance use to get the medications they need,” Jennens said.

“Instead of making it easier we are making it more difficult.”

That said, she does consider the diversion of prescription, regulated drugs to the black market is a problem — though, she said, it existed before these drugs were opioids and police were making strides addressing those who sold their prescriptions onto the black market.

When Health Minister Josie Osborne announced the “witness only” change she said it was aimed at preventing the diversion of take-home prescription opioids onto the street.

According to a recently leaked Ministry of Health document, a “significant portion” of opioids prescribed by doctors and pharmacists are being diverted and that prescribed alternatives are being trafficked provincially, nationally and internationally.

Jennens said she’s been told that’s not the case, however, the British Columbia Association of Chiefs of Police offered its approval, saying it recognizes the importance of harm reduction measures, including safe supply, but diversion is an issue.

“The BCACP supports evidence-based approaches to reducing harm and saving lives while ensuring appropriate safeguards are in place to mitigate risks associated with diversion,” Supt. Wendy Mehat, President of the BCACP said in a statement.

The BCACP said addressing the toxic drug crisis requires a balanced approach—one that prioritizes both public health and community safety.