Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Xavier, Jessica C.
• McDermid, Jennifer
• Buxton, Jane
• Henderson, Iesha
• Streukens, Amber
• Lamb, Jessica
• Greer, Alissa

Titel

People who use drugs’ prioritization of regulation amid decriminalization reforms in British Columbia, Canada: A qualitative study

Ist Teil von

• The International journal of drug policy, 2024-03, Vol.125, p.104354-104354, Article 104354

Ort / Verlag

Netherlands: Elsevier B.V

Erscheinungsjahr

2024

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

ScienceDirect

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• •Reliance on a toxic, illegal drug supply is a main driver of overdose in Canada.•Decriminalization was perceived as unlikely to reduce overdose deaths.•Regulation was seen as the necessary policy approach for reducing overdose deaths.•Under decriminalization, people continue to be exposed to toxic drugs.•The model of regulation is critical to the effectiveness of regulation. North America and the province of British Columbia (BC), Canada, is experiencing an unprecedented number of overdose deaths. In BC, overdose has become the leading cause of death for people between the ages of 10–59 years old. In January 2023, BC decriminalized personal possession of a number of illegal substances with one aim being to address overdose deaths through stigma reduction and promoting access to substance use services. We conducted a qualitative study to understand people who use drugs’ (PWUD) perceptions of the new decriminalization policy, immediately prior to its’ implementation (October-December 2022). To contextualize decriminalization within broader drug policy, we also asked PWUD what they perceived as the priority issues drug policy ought to address and the necessary solutions. Our final sample included 38 participants who used illegal drugs in the past month. We identified four themes: 1) The illicit drug supply as the main driver of drug toxicity deaths 2) Concerns about the impact of decriminalization on drug toxicity deaths 3) Views towards decriminalization as a policy response in the context of the drug toxicity crisis 4) Regulation as a symbol of hope for reducing drug toxicity deaths. From our data it became clear that many anticipated that decriminalization would have minimal or no impact on the overdose crisis. Regulation was perceived as the necessary policy approach for effectively and candidly addressing the drivers of the ongoing overdose crisis. These findings are important as jurisdictions consider different approaches to moving away from prohibition-based drug policy.