British Columbia's 'Safe Consumption Sites'?

"I think a lot of the reasons she was doing the drugs was the mental health problems she was having, and she was trying to drown them with drugs."

"I mean, I begged them [hospital child psychiatrists] and so did her dad ... "

"We said she's not mentally capable. She was sticking pencils through her hand when she was in the psych ward there."

13-year-old Brianna's mother, Sara MacDonald

Brianna MacDonald's family alleges that despite being just 13 years old, she was able to obtain drug paraphernalia including needles, naloxone kits and pamphlets on how to use safely from the regional health authority. Photo by GoFundMe.com

Discharged from a psychiatric care facility even as her frantic parents attempted to persuade medical authorities at the hospital that their daughter was incapable of caring for herself as a result of her mental distress, only to be informed that in their opinion the girl was old enough to make up her own mind and be in charge of her own health outcomes. Twelve years old at the time of her discharge, her parents were informed as far as they were concerned, that represented their considered opinion as mental health experts dealing with vulnerable children.

 

"The parents have to be able to mandate that the kids stay [in a care facility]", responded Jesse Griffiths, Brianna's father. Parents should have the legal right to insist their children receive appropriate care, he reasoned, since parents have legal responsibility for their children's welfare. An obvious extrapolation from one responsibility under the law to the other. 

 

Brianna had been placed in a youth centre in Abbotsford after her discharge; her disruptively violent behaviour at home should have been treated in hospital, her parents contend. Her mother was concerned over the influence her older daughter could have on her younger siblings. Brianna left the youth centre, ending up in a homeless camp. It was there, in the tent she occupied, that she died from a drug overdose on August 23. Efforts to save her life failed. 

At the age of ten and a half, Brianna began smoking marijuana and soon graduated to ecstasy which can cause users to experience euphoric highs and hallucinogenic effects, while in high doses it could lead to a sharp increase in body temperature, resulting in liver, kidney or cardiovascular system failure, brain swelling, and potentially a final outcome of death.

And then it was revealed that age aside, the young girl obtained drug paraphernalia including needles, naloxone kits and pamphlets on the safe use of drugs from none other than the Fraser Health Authority, the largest regional health authority in the province. Her parents expected that Fraser Health, in light of their daughter's age, would provide her with treatment. Because of an overdose Brianna had been hospitalized in February.

"We believe it is crucial to honour her memory by carefully examining what happened, learning from this tragedy, and working together to ensure that such a heartbreaking loss doesn't happen again", promised Fraser Health. According to Fraser Health records, British Columbia is burdened with an overdose crisis. Toxic, unregulated drugs took the lives of 2,511 people in 2023 throughout the province; an average of 6.9 deaths daily.

 

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"Tragically, toxic, illicit drugs are continuing to cause unprecedented numbers of deaths across our province."

"We cannot bring our deceased loved ones back, but we can and must do much more to protect the lives of tens of thousands of our family members, friends and colleagues still at risk."

Lisa Lapointe, British Columbia chief coroner