Advocates are giving out free heroin and cocaine to Downtown Eastside residents, to ensure they’re getting a safe supply.
The group, Drug User Liberation Front (DULF) announced these plans on the same day as a rally for safe drug supply in Vancouver.
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According to the group, the drugs are being given out as a reaction to the “increasing number of overdose deaths in British Columbia and inaction by municipal, provincial and federal governments.”
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B.C. saw the highest number of overdose deaths in May, at 170 cases — with many coming from the Downtown Eastside. That equals the number of COVID-19 deaths B.C. has faced since the pandemic began.
DULF said the drugs they are supplying have been tested to ensure they are free of “fentanyl, fentanyl analogues, benzodiazepines and many other harmful adulterants.”
They added that heroin and cocaine are not available as part of B.C.’s recent safe supply rollout, which provides safe prescription drugs to substance users.
B.C. declared a public health emergency in April 2016, due to the rising number of fatal overdoses. Since then, more than 5,000 people have died in this way.
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