Infographic by the Canadian Association for Safe Supply Educates BC About

Drug Safety Concerns

Be informed and understand BC's prescription supply options.

Vancouver, Canada, May 20, 2020 --(PR.com)-- The Canadian Association for Safe Supply (CASS) has
released an infographic to SafeSupply.ca and its social media accounts to highlight potential safety
concerns with drug recommendations made in the "Risk Mitigation in the Context of Dual Health
Emergencies" prescribing guideline.

These guidelines are designed to support physical distancing practices for people at risk of overdose and
COVID-19. The "Risk Mitigation" Guideline recommends oral prescription opioid tablet options as
alternatives to the illicit opioid supply. While these guidelines expand access to much needed prescription
alternatives, they neglect to inform service providers and patients about the potential health risks that can
happen with injecting tablets. Each of the drug options on the Guideline was produced to be taken by
mouth, and have not been tested or received regulatory approval for any other method of usage.

While tablets are not ideal for injection use, harm reduction measures such as proper filtration prior to
injection can greatly reduce the chance of health consequences. CASS urges the British Columbia
government to add prescription injectable opioids options to the Dual Risk guideline.

"People are turning to prescribers right now, and the guidelines that prescribers are turning to for clinical
advice does not actually recommend any drug made for injection use. Tablets should not be considered a
substitute for an injectable drug preparation. Frontline service providers are working with the only tools
that they have. If the clinical guidelines they follow are not recommending injectable drugs, despite being
safer for injection than tablets, than decision makers are not offering people regulated prescription drugs
at all at a structural level," says CASS President Jordan Westfall.

Opioid tablets recommended on the guidelines are meant to be taken orally and contain non-medical
ingredients that can cause vein blockage, endocarditis and bacterial infections when injected without
proper filtration.

Please visit our research page for further information on tablet use and health consequences visit
SafeSupply.ca/Research.

To learn more about proper filtering and tablet injection visit SafeSupply.ca/Support

Media Contact:

Jordan Westfall, President, Canadian Association for Safe Supply (CASS), 778-227-9914

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Contact Information:
Canadian Association for Safe Supply
Jordan Westfall
778-227-9914
Contact via Email
safesupply.ca

Online Version of Press Release:

You can read the online version of this press release at: https://www.pr.com/press-release/812884

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