Nurses’ voices used to heighten fears of fentanyl exposure in British Columbian rural hospitals

People who use drugs (PWUD) experience stigma when accessing hospital-based health care, including emergency care. Rural settings are of particular concern due to heightened social-structural stigma towards PWUD in smaller communities. These barriers have been further exacerbated by recent media attention where nurses’ voices have been used to influence political discourses regarding workplace exposure to second-hand smoke from unregulated substances (e.g. fentanyl and methamphetamine). Immediate collective nursing action is required to protect nurses’ professional and ethical obligations and ensure safe access to hospital care for PWUD in the current political climate in British Columbia, Canada.