Naturopathic doctors in British Columbia are lobbying for the right to prescribe safer medicines, saying they want to help solve a toxic drug crisis that’s killing nearly seven people in the province every day.
The College of Naturopathic Doctors (BCND), B.C.’s autonomous professional association, sent a letter to Jennifer Whiteside, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, on November 16th, requesting the authority to prescribe alternatives to street drugs in addition to opioid agonist therapy, such as methadone or suboxone. Opioid agonist therapy is a treatment in which patients take medication to alleviate withdrawal symptoms from opioid use.
“It’s a very real risk,” Prince George naturopath Deborah Fair told CBC’s Carolina Derrick. North of Dawnthe group has yet to receive a response.
“This is a crisis that really needs immediate attention,” Fair said. “Naturopathic doctors are here. We’re licensed. We’re already operating in these parts of B.C., and we want to help. So all I’m saying is, ‘Minister, please let us help.'”
She argues that allowing naturopathic doctors to prescribe these drugs would not only give patients better access to them, but it would also ease pressure on doctors amid a shortage of primary care providers.
An estimated 225,000 people in British Columbia are at risk of death or injury from drug use, but only 5,000 have access to safer prescription drugs, according to a November report from the BC Coroners Service.
More than 13,300 people have died since April 2016, when British Columbia declared a public health emergency due to a surge in illegal drug-related deaths.
The ministry said it was considering the request.
Since 2009, naturopaths in British Columbia have had the right to prescribe certain medicines if they complete an accredited course. They can also complete a course that allows them to administer vaccinations.
Currently, about 630 of British Columbia’s 800 licensed naturopathic doctors have prescribing rights, Fair said.
Earlier this year, registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses were given the authority to prescribe medications for opioid use disorder under a new certification that allows them to diagnose and treat substance use disorder. To gain this certification, they must complete training at the BC Substance Use Centre.
The deaths inquiry committee in November called for the expansion of safer supply programs that allow people to get alternatives to toxic street drugs without a prescription.
Whiteside summarily rejected the proposal.
A written statement from the ministry said the BCND’s letter was currently under review.
The ministry said a review of B.C.’s Safer Supply program is currently being conducted by experts from the Canadian Institute for Research on Drug Use at the University of Victoria. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry is also reviewing aspects of the program, which was originally put in place in response to a surge in deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Evaluation of the program is currently ongoing, but preliminary findings indicate a reduction in overdose and all-cause mortality among people receiving prescription opioids,” the department’s statement read.
“Early findings suggest that people who receive prescription opioids have a 61% reduced risk of death compared to those who do not.”
