Victoria, BC to get machine that dispenses drugs to addicts amid opioid crisis

This machine is capable of storing data on people, who will access the machine by putting their palms on a scanner. It will process this and dispense the correct dose of the correct medication for that particular patient within 15 seconds.

The “MySafe” machines, which is roughly the size of an ATM, has already undergone trials in the East Hastings area of downtown Vancouver, which for decades has been the roughest part of the city, and is currently the epicentre of Canada’s opioid problem.

The trials have been going on since December, and hope to curb the wave of deaths by overdose. In Canada since the beginning of 2016, there have been at least 15,000 deaths by opioid overdose, with more than a third of these being in BC.

It is estimated that at least 1000 people every year die of overdose in the famous “Blood Alleys” off of East Hastings Street in Vancouver.

The trail involved a mere 20 people, but results look promising as far as avoiding overdoses go. A third of the participants also reported they stopped seeking drugs on the street altogether.

“The sample size is really small obviously, but it’s had a huge impact to the people’s lives that are currently using it,” said Dr. Mark Tyndall, a UBC researcher and the man that spearheaded the program. “We need more numbers to really show that’s happening and the deployment of five more machines will give us some more evaluative power to do that.”

The other four machines are slated to be deposited at strategic locations in London, ON, Dartmouth NS, and two other locations in Vancouver.

It remains to be seen whether the machines will have any positive affect on social ills in Victoria and elsewhere associated with the opioid crisis.