The UBC Social Justice Centre (SJC) ran a one-day fentanyl test strip distribution booth ahead of Halloween earlier today.
The student group announced the booth yesterday on its Instagram page.
Students were able to pick up the free test strips outside the Nest by Loafe from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m today — but after two hours, all 100 test strips had been picked up. Volunteers also provided resources on harm reduction and encouraged students to fill out this survey on harm reduction at UBC.
Fentanyl has contributed to many overdose deaths in BC since January 2020, and can be present in many party drugs. Fentanyl strips do not always detect fentanyl, said Sienna Nargang-White, a second-year gender, race and social justice and Spanish major involved in the SJC, but they can significantly reduce harm.
The SJC worked with Cristina Ilnitchi on this project. Ilnitchi is the former AMS VP External (2018–2020) and an interdisciplinary major in her last term at UBC.
Ilnitchi said she’s been concerned about the lack of conversation on campus around harm reduction and the toxic drug supply.
She connected with several groups on campus to organize trainings, but this event came about ahead of the first Halloween weekend in a year when many students may be using drugs at parties.
“This is a tangible way where we can keep each other safe,” Ilnitchi said. She said the SJC has partnered with Vancouver Coastal Health to get some resources but the test strips for today’s event were purchased by the SJC.
Nargang-White said this was a bit of a last-minute project, but they’re hoping to use it to figure out what the demand is like on campus for fentanyl test strips.
We’re out of test strips for today after less than 2 hours! Clearly such a huge need on campus. Starting next week, you can come pick them up in a permanent location in the Nest, second floor by the Resources Groups Office! @ubcprez @AinsleyCarry :) pic.twitter.com/n9SMrivhtx
— Cristina Ilnitchi (@cilnitchi) October 29, 2021
“Drug use on campus is going to happen no matter what, so the goal of this initiative is to reduce the harm that will be happening because the drug supply throughout Vancouver and throughout BC is the worst it’s ever been, especially after COVID-19,” she said.
“The percentage of drugs that are laced is higher than ever, and so having fentanyl testing strips is more important than ever.”
Nargang-White, Ilnitchi and Gabriel Fischer-Schmidt, a forestry student involved with the SJC, expressed concern about the lack of action from UBC on this issue.
“The Social Justice Centre is happy to be providing funding from what we do have right now for testing strips … But the drug epidemic in BC has killed way more people throughout the past two years than COVID-19, yet the school has barely set up any precautions for harm reduction for drugs on campus,” Nargang-White said.
Last year, BC Coroner’s Service recorded 1,716 overdose deaths — the most in any given year — and an additional 1,204 deaths from January 1 to July 31 of this year. Meanwhile, the BCCDC has recorded 2,147 deaths from COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.
Fischer-Schmidt spoke harm reduction issues in residence where people may not ask for help when something goes wrong due to zero-tolerance drug policies.
Earlier in the term, the AMS announced it intended to distribute 250-500 fentanyl test strips, but these plans were delayed due to supply issues. The student society also tried to set up a drug testing site on campus, but were unable to due to capacity issues.
Ilnitchi said she hasn’t gotten a clear answer from UBC yet on whether it would help out with distributing fentanyl test strips.
“We presented to the VP Students about harm reduction and the actions we’re taking and they seemed supportive in moving forward and helping out with us, but no tangible action quite yet has come out of that,” she said.
“Even if you don't use drugs, being knowledgeable about harm reduction can keep you, your friends and your community safe.”
Resource on how to use fentanyl test strips.
For more information on how to prevent overdoses: https://www.StopOverdoseBC.ca.
For information on how to apply for a Facility Overdose Response Box: https://towardtheheart.com/forb-sites.
To access virtual low- and no-cost mental health and substance use services: www.gov.bc.ca/covid19mentalhealthsupports.