Peer-reviewed research is emerging about the possible impacts of British Columbia's safer supply program, which provides prescription alternatives to toxic illicit drugs, with two studies in international medical journals casting the strategy in a different light.
One found the program was associated with a reduced risk of death from overdose and other causes among opioid-using participants, while the other concluded the strategy was associated with a significant increase in opioid overdose hospitalizations across the community.
The authors of the studies say the two sets of results aren't contradictory; instead, they ask different questions about the policy introduced in 2020.
The safer supply policy has since become a lightning rod for critics, including federal Opposition leader Pierre Poilievre, who has pledged to shut it down if he becomes prime minister.
