In response to the BC Health Minister’s statement on
status of the decriminalization pilot program:
The First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) respects that there are many approaches to addressing the toxic drug public health emergency in BC, including evidence-based policy adjustments. As a health system partner to the Provincial Government, we are disappointed that FNHA was not engaged in a decision that will disproportionately impact First Nations people, communities and families.
Substance use is a health issue, not a criminal one. Decriminalization was meant to address the stigma and discrimination that surrounds those who use substances.
Stigma and discrimination drive people to hide their drug use and use alone. Given the increasingly toxic drug supply – using alone can be fatal. Decriminalization helps to break down the barriers that prevent people from getting support and create new pathways to life-saving services.
Reducing stigma around drug use is a vital part of BC's work to build a comprehensive system of mental health and substance use care for people throughout the province. FNHA supports steps towards implementing a compassionate, trauma-informed, culturally safe and voluntary system of care that embraces people where they are at on their wellness journey.
First Nations people continue to be disproportionately impacted by the toxic drug public health emergency and overrepresented in the criminal justice system. This reality is due to the ongoing impacts of colonialism related to experiences of intergenerational trauma: the removal from land, culture, communities, language; enforcement of residential school systems; the 60's scoop; and the ongoing impacts of child removal from communities. This disparity is also rooted in broader social inequities, anti-Indigenous racism and limited access to culturally safe health care.
More information and resources can be found at: https://www.fnha.ca/what-we-do/mental-wellness-and-substance-use/harm-reduction-and-the-toxic-drug-crisis/toxic-drug-crisis-response-research
