Exploring the early impacts of drug decriminalization on harm reduction and opioid agonist treatment service operations and delivery in British Columbia: insights from key informant interviews
Key informants perceived that decriminalization did not lead to immediate changes in HR and OAT site operations. Longstanding systemic barriers continued to limit service capacity and policy impact. Providers highlighted the need for sustained investment in housing, staffing, and supervised spaces to support meaningful engagement and reduce stigma. Addressing these foundational issues was seen as essential for realizing the policy's intended public health objectives.
Authors
- Farihah Ali (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2968-3824)
- Laura MacKinnon
- Frank Crichlow
- Charlene Burmeister
- Kate Hodgson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2208-5098)
- Sameer Imtiaz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6812-4892)
- David E. Griffith (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1458-3385)
- Cayley Russell (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9634-9554)
- Rita Shahin
- Jürgen Rehm
- Savannah Torres-Salbach (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6144-3580)
- Courtney Amoraal
Institutions
- Parks Canada (CA)
- Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CA)
- Vancouver Coastal Health (CA)
- University of British Columbia (CA)
- Universität Hamburg (DE)
- Toronto Public Health (CA)
- University of Toronto (CA)
- Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CA)
- Canada Research Chairs (CA)
- BC Centre for Disease Control (CA)
- Department of Health and Human Services (AU)
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory (ES)
- University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (DE)
- Pacific Insight Electronics (Canada) (CA)
- Public Health Ontario (CA)
- Canadian Nutrition Society (CA)
Publication Details
- Journal
- BMC Public Health
- Published
- 2025-12-06
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-25479-x
- Primary Topic
- HIV, Drug Use, Sexual Risk
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00