Yukon government dragging its heels on opioid action, critics say

Weeks after the Yukon government declared a substance use emergency, it's facing calls to do more to prevent overdoses.

Both the NDP and the territory's medical association say the government isn't doing enough.

The Yukon government expanded an existing safer supply program last fall. But three months later, the NDP health critic Annie Blake said information about the program is hard to find.

"The issue is that we're not seeing [information] in the community," Blake said."People don't know where to access it or where to get the information."

Safer supply refers to programs that offer prescribed opioids, benzodiazepines or other drugs as an alternative to street drugs.

Last fall, the Yukon government expanded an existing safer supply program based at the referred care clinic in Whitehorse. It has also established a safe injection site in downtown Whitehorse. Last month, the government declared a substance use emergency.

The Yukon's rate of overdose deaths is more than double the national average. Eight people have died from overdose already this year.

Push to let community nurses prescribe opioids

The NDP is also calling on the government to allow nurses to prescribe opioid treatments, including safer supply. Blake said the government should import that policy, which is already used in British Columbia. 

The Yukon Medical Association agrees that community nurses should be able to prescribe opioids to people who need them.

YMA president Ryan Warshawski said safer supply and opioid agonist treatments for people with addictions are virtually impossible to obtain in the Yukon's rural communities.

Opioid agonist treatments decrease cravings for opioids and help people with withdrawal symptoms.

Warshawski said people in rural communities who are in palliative care and need opioids to treat pain, such as cancer patients, also struggle to get the drugs they need.

"Currently, if you live in Carmacks and you have pancreatic cancer and are dependent on methadone to control your pain, you're not able to actually get methadone in in Carmacks," he said.

The YMA is also calling on the Yukon government to support efforts to decriminalize simple possession of illicit drugs. The federal NDP has introduced a bill in the House of Commons that would decriminalize the possession of small amounts of drugs, including cocaine and heroin.

Warshawski said people with substance use disorders need medical help, not criminal prosecution.

"They don't deserve our judgment, they deserve our help," he said. "One of the greatest things that we could do for them is ... not judge them, but to recognize them as as human beings and try to provide them with compassionate and comprehensive care." 

Health minister Tracy Anne McPhee wasn't made available for an interview. After more than a day, the cabinet office responded with a written statement.

It says the rollout of safer supply is happening in phases and the health department is currently training doctors and nurses to provide opioid treatments. The statement also says more than 200 people are currently accessing opioid treatments, including safer supply.

"We recognize we need to do more," the statement reads. "We are currently planning a new territory-wide public awareness and education campaign, as one of the commitments in response to the substance use health emergency."