thePodcast: B.C.'s deadly drug decriminalization experiment after one year

For the week of Jan. 28, 2024: One year down, two to go, for British Columbia’s hard drug decriminalization experiment.  A Simon Fraser University clinical psychologist is not surprised that the death toll from toxic drug overdoses in B.C. hit a record 2,511 in 2023.  Dr. Julian Somers of the Centre for Applied Research in Mental Health and Addiction predicted a year go that the public health emergency would worsen.  “We’ve been spending more incrementally each year,” Somers said. “The things we’re spending on — pharmaceuticals and hospital beds, buildings where people are congregated together with consumption sites — those […]