RCMP Chief Supt. Will Ng speaks at a news conference as seized fentanyl pills are displayed in Surrey, B.C., in March 2023. Years of civil forfeiture regulations do not appear to be resulting in any meaningful abatement in organized crime, particularly in the illicit drug trade.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Nitazenes can be up to 50 times stronger than fentanyl. They’re not yet common in Australia so now is the time to implement policies to reduce their harm and limit their uptake.
Nitazenes are a class of synthetic opioids more potent than fentanyl.
Joe Lamberti/The Washington Post via Getty Images
The modern Mexico–US drug trade is rooted in the unintended consequences of government policy on both sides of the border.
Both the Canadian Paediatric Society and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend opioids be considered for short-term pain if acetaminophen and ibuprofen are inadequate.
(Shutterstock)
No parent wants to see their child suffer and untreated pain can have health consequences. But parents may have concerns about use of opioids for their child’s acute pain. Here are tips for safer use.
Nitazenes, like this powder sample, are a class of synthetic opioids more potent than morphine and fentanyl.
Joe Lamberti/The Washington Post via Getty Images
Despite a positive meeting, the contest between the world’s two biggest economies remains heated, largely without guardrails and of immense risk.
Approaching the opioid crisis from a public health perspective includes massively increasing access to care and treatment for patients experiencing substance use disorder.
(Shutterstock)
There were more than 100,000 opioid-related deaths in North America in 2022. How the crisis grew to such proportions, and three potential paths to ending it.
The US has seen a huge rise in drug deaths in the past decade involving a stimulant and a depressant.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen arrives at Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing, China, on July 6, 2023.
Pedro Pardo/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
The US and China are talking again, but security issues between the two countries linger.
Drug checking is a harm reduction practice that provides chemical analysis of substances. Fentanyl test strips help drug users ensure that substances are free of dangerous fentanyl.
(AP Photo/Carlos Giusti)
Most consumables in Canada have quality controls that inform purchasing and consumption decisions. People who use illicit drugs deserve the same. Drug checking provides that harm-reduction service.
Although xylazine is not an opioid, naloxone can reverse the effects of the fentanyl and heroin it is often mixed with.
AP Photo/Jae C. Hong
Xylazine, or tranq, is increasingly being mixed with drugs like fentanyl or heroin and can be difficult to detect. Most people who use drugs are unable to tell if they have been exposed to it.
Pills are one of the more common ways of ingesting opioids.
AP Photo/Keith Srakocic
Pennsylvania has long had one of the highest death rates from drug overdose in the US. But new studies suggest counties throughout the state have different rates of opioid deaths.
A supervised consumption site in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, in 2021. B.C. has decriminalized simple possession of drugs, including methamphetamines and opioids.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
People in Nigeria are creating new drugs either because they can’t afford more traditional narcotics, because they’re not controlled or because they’re strong.
Assistant Professor, Dept of Medicine, University of British Columbia and Research Scientist with the BC Centre on Substance Use, University of British Columbia