Opioid manufacturer Purdue Pharma (Canada) (Purdue Canada) has agreed to a first of its kind settlement in Canada resulting from B.C.-led efforts to recover health-care costs related to the sale and marketing of opioid-based pain medicines.

People throughout British Columbia will continue to benefit from access to low- and no-cost counselling services with the extension of government funding to local community counselling agencies.

A first-of-its-kind complex-care housing program will soon be available for British Columbia’s most vulnerable people who need a level of support that goes beyond the current housing model.

The Province is enhancing supports in order to provide even better crisis line services for British Columbians.

Sheila Malcolmson, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, has released the following statement for National Addictions Awareness Week:

British Columbia has taken an important step forward to prevent drug poisoning deaths by applying to the federal government to remove criminal penalties for people who possess small amounts of illicit drugs for personal use.

More British Columbians now have access to free and low-cost support for mental health and substance-use challenges with expanded funding for community-based counselling programs, including virtual sessions, throughout the province.

Children and teens who are experiencing anxiety and stress because of the COVID-19 pandemic will benefit from new digital resources from Anxiety Canada to help them cope.