Samuel Tobias – The Conversation

A supervised consumption site in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, in 2021. B.C. has decriminalized simple possession of drugs, including methamphetamines and opioids. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

February 6, 2023

Why the drug poisoning crisis in B.C. won’t be addressed by the new decriminalization policy

Samuel Tobias, University of British Columbia

As British Columbia begins a new era in drug policy, the drug poisoning crisis continues without an end in sight.

Naloxone can prevent deaths from opioid overdose, but there is no way to reverse the effects of benzodiazepine overdose without risk. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward)

August 11, 2021

‘Benzo‑dope’ may be replacing fentanyl: Dangerous substance turning up in unregulated opioids

Lianping Ti, University of British Columbia and Samuel Tobias, University of British Columbia

Fentanyl adulteration led to the replacement of heroin in the unregulated drug supply of British Columbia. Now that benzodiazepines are present in many opioids, are we headed towards a ‘new normal?’

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