Marijuana legalization was a key pillar of the Liberal platform in the 2015 election and the successful implementation of this promise will be a defining moment for the Justin Trudeau government and its legacy. The definition of success for this mammoth policy file varies greatly depending on who is being consulted. Businesses large and small are jockeying for influence in the new cannabis economy. Provincial governments are watching closely to identify their own steps forward. Border cities are grappling with the tourism implications. Mental health advocates are calling for health-focused regulations. [continues 620 words]
European experts say facilities like Vancouver's Crosstown can save lives, money in battling opioid crisis Addiction experts from five European countries say their experience with prescription heroin programs have provided overwhelming evidence to suggest Canada should expand its one clinic to tackle the deadly opioid crisis. Researchers from the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Canada held a symposium in Vancouver on Friday to share lessons they've learned from multiple clinical trials and years of treatment. Wim van den Brink of the Netherlands told a news conference that some European programs started as a way to deal with the public nuisance of drug use but the medical health benefits improved people's quality of life and saved money in the criminal justice system. [continues 487 words]
The article Needles the cause, cure (May 23) postulates possible reasons for higher rates of HIV and hepatitis C virus in London. As an organization that advocates with and for people who inject drugs ( PWID), we note that, while unsafe injection practices may be a potential driver of these increased rates, it is probably not the only influence. There are multiple social and systemic influences that may not only contribute to the increase of disease, but also contribute to overall diminished health of those who inject drugs. [continues 404 words]
It seems we're finally coming to grips with the opioid crisis. Not in the sense that we're able to prevent it or roll it back, unfortunately. But now the data needed to conduct the fight is becoming available. It's not perfect, but it is a huge - and positive - step. Where we've been reactive, we'll now be able to be proactive. Or at least more proactive than we have been, watching as the wave of death rolls across Canada. [continues 333 words]
"'It's a try-and-die drug': Fentanyl is suspected in weekend overdose death" (SP, May 9) documents our cruel and ineffective drug policy. Overdose deaths are completely avoidable, as is the spread of AIDS and hepatitis C through drug use. These problems are caused by prohibition of drugs, not the drugs themselves. Drug policies other than prohibition have been tried, studied, and shown to have great success, if success means fewer addicts and far less crime and corruption. When prescription heroin was provided in Manchester, England, crime fell in some neighbourhoods by 80 per cent. [continues 98 words]
Ottawa broadens overdose-prevention program, approving three more locations for Vancouver region, one for Montreal The federal government has approved four more supervised-injection sites - three in the Vancouver region and one in Montreal - in its latest effort to combat an escalating overdose crisis across the country. The new round of approvals brings the number of federally sanctioned sites to nine, significantly expanding what was once a radical intervention limited to a single location in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. Such facilities, run by local health agencies, allow users to consume illicit drugs in the presence of health workers who can intervene in the event of an overdose. [continues 585 words]