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Doctors bring back-to-school drug checking to UVic
Doctors and harm-reduction volunteers used a spectrometer to test unregulated substances for free and urged UVic to add a permanent service.
- On Sept. 9 and 10, Doctors for Safer Drug Policy pitched a tent near UVic's student union building to provide free, confidential harm-reduction drug-checking services to students during the first week of classes.
- Following the January 2024 death of first-year UVic student Sidney McIntyre-Starko, who consumed a substance containing fentanyl, the initiative addresses risks posed by the toxic drug supply on campus.
- Lauren Airth, a postdoctoral fellow with UVic's Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research, used a spectrometer to provide students a "fingerprint of the drug," identifying ingredients so "they can be better prepared."
- Addiction physician Jill Wiwcharuk criticized UVic for lacking a permanent on-campus facility, calling the disparity "unconscionable" given the university's global leadership in substance use research.
- Wiwcharuk pledged to return to campus monthly until UVic implements a permanent service, while Airth and her team continue advocating to prevent future fatalities from the toxic drug supply.
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‘We’re not here to judge’: Doctors bring back-to-school drug checking to UVic - Northern Sentinel
First-year UVic student Sidney McIntyre-Starko was 18 when she died in January 2024 after being exposed to B.C.’s toxic drug supply. At the time, she was living on campus in a student residence when she consumed what she thought was cocaine. She and another student collapsed on the floor and began having seizures. While the other student survived, McIntyre-Starko did not. The drug she consumed was later found to contain fentanyl. In the wake of …
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Leaning Left11Leaning Right0Center0Last UpdatedBias Distribution100% Left
Bias Distribution
- 100% of the sources lean Left
100% Left
L 100%
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