25 signatures reached
To: The Honourable the Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia in Legislature Assembled
We Need Safe Supply – Not More Barriers
We, the undersigned, call on the Government of British Columbia to immediately protect and expand access to prescribed safer drug supply programs, including the right to take-home doses.
Background:
The government of BC is currently rolling back access to take-home prescribed safer drug supply which required witnessed dosing every day. This creates impossible barriers for people who are actively trying to stabilize their lives. It prevents people from working, parenting, travelling, or managing their health independently.
These changes are putting lives at risk.
People who once stabilized their drug use, are now being forced back into using street drugs just to get through the day.
We, the White Rock/South Surrey Peer Support Network (PSN) and Tides of Change Community Action Team (CAT) know from lived experience that prescribed safer drug supply programs—when delivered with trust, flexibility, and dignity—save lives. They provide a bridge toward stability, treatment, and meaningful change.
We ask that the BC Government:
- Immediately halt the rollback of take-home prescribed safer drug supply programs to improve accessibility to safer drugs and to reflect the reality of people’s lives..
- Include people with lived and living experience at all levels of program design and decision-making.
- Support programs rooted in harm reduction, trauma-informed care, and human dignity.
This is not about politics. It is about survival. Prescribe safer drug supply works. It saves lives. It offers people the chance to imagine a future beyond crisis.
Why is this important?
The government is trying to address the ongoing opioid crisis through ending take-home prescribed safer supply drug programs.
Those of us with lived experience, as well as family and friends, know this approach doesn’t work, in fact, it causes more harm.
In our communities and peer groups, we’ve seen the positive impact of prescribed safer drug supply. We know people who’ve found stability, hope, and a way forward because of it. But lately, it feels like more and more barriers are being added—and we’re seeing the consequences.
Right now, people are being required to be witnessed by a pharmacist. Taking their medication multiple times a day might seem reasonable on paper, but in real life, it doesn’t leave room for normal things: travel, work, parenting, emergencies, or even just running late. It makes it hard—sometimes impossible—to stay on the program, even for those who are doing everything right.
It is impossible to work and go every day to be witnessed by a pharmacist for your dose. If a dose(s) is/are missed, we need to take street drugs to get through the day, derailing our progress and setting us back. Furthermore, missed doses could negatively impact co-workers, family and friends.
People who are engaging honestly in the program end up feeling shamed or stuck. There’s no room for flexibility, and it puts people in a precarious position. Despite meeting expectations—passing drug tests, showing up, following the rules—it still often isn’t enough to be trusted.
We understand that every system will have people who push the limits, yet most of us are simply trying to move forward, rebuild our lives, and stay alive. Prescribed safer drug supply is a key factor in achieving these goals.
Prescribed safer drug supply is a first step, whether toward treatment, stability, or simply having the space to breathe and make different choices. It takes people out of survival mode and into a place where they can begin to imagine a different kind of life.
When these programs are grounded in dignity and trust—when staff treat us like human beings, not statistics—they truly help. We’re asking for a chance—a real one.
Prescribed safer drug supply works. It offers a path forward, and for many of us, it’s the reason we’re still here.
Let’s not take this away.
How it will be delivered
via email & in person at community events