Pivot Legal Society, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Pivot Legal Society, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Int J Drug Policy. 2013 Nov;24(6):e61-5. doi: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2013.04.001. Epub 2013 May 13.
In Canada, Provincial Governments have jurisdiction over delivery of healthcare including harm reduction services and Methadone Maintenance Therapy (MMT). While policy directives and funding come from the provincial capital, individuals' access to these services happens in neighbourhoods and municipalities spread out across the province. In some cases, public health objectives targeted at people living with addictions and the rights to equitable access to healthcare are at odds with the vision that residents, business associations and other interest groups have for their neighbourhood or city. This paper looks at the cases of four British Columbia municipalities, Mission, Surrey, Coquitlam and Abbotsford, where local governments have used zoning provisions to restrict access to harm reduction services and drug substitution therapies including MMT. This paper will contextualize these case studies in a survey of zoning and bylaw provisions related to harm reduction and MMT across British Columbia, and examine the interplay between municipal actions and public discourses that affect access to healthcare for people living with addictions. Finally, this paper will explore possible legal implications for municipalities that use their zoning and permitting powers to restrict access to health care for people with addictions, as well as public engagement strategies for healthcare advocates that have the potential to reduce resistance to health services for people living with addictions in communities across the province.
在加拿大,省级政府负责提供医疗保健服务,包括减少伤害服务和美沙酮维持治疗 (MMT)。虽然政策指令和资金来自省会,但个人获得这些服务的机会存在于遍布全省的社区和市政府中。在某些情况下,针对成瘾者的公共卫生目标和公平获得医疗保健的权利与居民、商业协会和其他利益集团对其社区或城市的愿景相冲突。本文以不列颠哥伦比亚省的四个城市为例,即米申、萨里、高贵林和阿伯茨福德,这些地方的地方政府利用分区规定限制了减少伤害服务和包括 MMT 在内的药物替代疗法的获取。本文将在不列颠哥伦比亚省与减少伤害和 MMT 相关的分区和地方法规规定调查中为这些案例研究提供背景,并研究影响成瘾者获得医疗保健的市政行动和公共话语之间的相互作用。最后,本文将探讨那些利用分区和许可权力限制成瘾者获得医疗保健的城市可能面临的法律影响,以及医疗保健倡导者在减少全省社区对成瘾者服务的抵制方面具有潜力的公众参与策略。