Motivations for concurrent use of uppers and downers among people who access harm reduction services in British Columbia, Canada: findings from the 2019 Harm Reduction Client Survey.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

An increase in crystal methamphetamine (methamphetamine) use during the overdose epidemic is being observed in British Columbia (BC), Canada, and across North America. Concurrent use (ie, using uppers and downers one after the other or together) can increase the risk of fatal and non-fatal opioid overdose.

Objectives

We investigated motivations for concurrent use of uppers and downers, specifically how (eg, in what order) and why people use concurrently, to identify potential interventions to prevent overdose and other harms.

Setting and participants

The 2019 Harm Reduction Client Survey was administered across 22 harm reduction supply distribution sites in BC (n=621). This thematic analysis examined 307 responses by people who affirmed concurrent use to

SUBMITTER: Steinberg A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9062822 | biostudies-literature | 2022 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature