Grant: Project Grant

In March 2020, British Columbia became the first Canadian province to introduce the 'Safer Supply' policy for opioid users. The potential impacts of this harm reduction policy have been widely debated. The objective of this project is to investigate the impacts of British Columbia's Safer Supply policy on a broad range of opioid-related behaviors and health outcomes, including opioid and opioid agonist therapy prescribing, information-seeking behaviors, and opioid overdose events. Using administrative health data and Google Trends data, and quasi-experimental designs that compare changes in British Columbia with changes in control provinces that did not adopt the policy, this study will provide timely and much-needed evidence to inform policymakers and the public on the effects of this important policy.