B.C. RCMP say no evidence of widespread safer supply diversion following drug seizures

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B.C.’s Premier says he has spoken with his Alberta counterpart about drug diversion from his province’s safer supply programs and will convene a meeting of their respective public safety ministers to further explore the issue.

David Eby’s comments Monday, made in response to questions at unrelated news conferences in the past two days, follow two recent cases of RCMP seizures of medications that the police suspect to be from the province’s polarizing harm-reduction programs.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said last week that her province had warned for years that prescribed alternatives to illicit street drugs could be diverted and trafficked across the country.

Mr. Eby said Sunday that Public Safety Minister and Solicitor-General Mike Farnworth had already had an early briefing with Mounties on the issue, and that his government would be seeking additional information from RCMP’s E Division about a recent seizure in Prince George.

Mr. Farnworth said Monday that he spoke with the RCMP’s commanding officer in B.C. about that seizure and was told that the idea that there is widespread diversion is untrue.

“If there are any issues that we can identify from that information from police, we will take action,” Mr. Eby said. “I had a conversation with the Premier of Alberta about her concerns, and I made a commitment to her that we’re happy to meet with her to receive any information or evidence or that they have of diversion.”

B.C. RCMP Assistant Commissioner John Brewer said police in the province conduct thousands of drug trafficking investigations each year and often seize prescription drugs that are no longer in the hands of their intended recipient.

“However, the presence of confirmed safer supply prescriptions are in the minority of drug seizures,” he said in a statement. “While there have been recent investigations that have resulted in notable quantities being seized, there is currently no evidence to support a widespread diversion of safer supply drugs in the illicit market in B.C. or Canada.”

Prince George RCMP announced last week that it had seized more than 10,000 individual prescription pills, as well as large quantities of suspected fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine, over a three-month period. The prescription medications included the anti-convulsant medication gabapentin; the attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder medication dextroamphetamine; and the opioids codeine, oxycodone, morphine and hydromorphone.

The detachment’s March 7 news release said “morphine and hydromorphone (also known as Dilaudid) are safe supply prescription medications,” but did not say whether there was evidence linking the seized medications to safer supply programs, or in what quantities they were found. Prince George RCMP spokesperson Corporal Jennifer Cooper did not answer questions from The Globe, citing the continuing investigations.

About 85 per cent of hydromorphone prescribed in B.C. is for pain management, and about 15 per cent as an alternative to illicit drugs.

In early February, Campbell River RCMP investigating the discovery of a body found what they called “significant evidence of drug trafficking,” including about 150 grams of cocaine and 1,400 pills believed to be hydromorphone.

In an interview, Campbell River RCMP spokesperson Constable Maury Tyre said there was “significant information that indicated it came from safer supply,” though he could not elaborate on what evidence there was. However, in other investigations involving smaller amounts, “we’re seeing safer supply bottles in the hands of people they don’t belong to,” he said, adding that the bottles are linked to local prescribers.

The Alberta Premier issued a statement Friday saying drugs from the program could cause “irreparable harm and death in communities across the country,” and that she had asked her ministers of public safety and mental health and addictions to request a meeting with their B.C. counterparts. Ms. Smith’s office did not respond to a request for comment on Monday.

In a review of B.C.’s safer supply programs by Provincial Health Officer Bonnie Henry released last month, program staff and clients described hydromorphone diversion as a “common occurrence,” often because it does not meet the needs of people who have developed a much higher tolerance to opioids because of fentanyl. Some recipients reported diverting it to obtain other substances that more effectively staved off their withdrawal, or to support someone else who could not access prescribed safer supply.

Adding additional medications that better meet the needs of recipients, such as powdered fentanyl and heroin, would remove the incentive to divert, Dr. Henry wrote.

In an effort to mitigate diversion, B.C.’s Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions has indicated that any new medications added to these programs will require witnessed ingestion. As well, it is currently piloting a new methodology to improve consistency in chart reviews to assess new incidences of substance use disorder, including from diversion.

A statement from the ministry said it works closely with B.C. police agencies and the Ministry of Public Safety on how best to monitor drug diversion. It has also instructed health authorities to report any incidences of diversion or misuse of prescribed alternatives.

“By law, prescription medications – including those obtained from the Prescribed Alternatives program – must only be used by the individual to whom they were prescribed,” the statement says. “Individuals who are trafficking these substances are breaking the law and can be subject to action by law enforcement.”

With a report from The Canadian Press