People march to remember those who died during the drug poisoning crisis on International Overdose Awareness Day, in Vancouver, on Aug. 31, 2021.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
A police policy of not making arrests for simple possession is a way to essentially decriminalize personal drug use. However, confiscating drugs — even without arrests — can be harmful in many ways.
The US has seen a huge rise in drug deaths in the past decade involving a stimulant and a depressant.
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.
Resistance to policies like safe supply still create barriers for vulnerable people, despite evidence that harm reduction saves lives.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Harm reduction is grounded in evidence. But policies, stigma and ignorance about substance use still create barriers in battling Canada’s drug poisoning crisis.
Opioid neurotransmitters are located in many areas of the body, including the brain, spine and gut.
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Unlike opioid drugs like morphine and fentanyl that travel throughout the body, the opioids your body produces are released in small quantities to specific locations.
Millions around the world use acetaminophen every day, but relatively few people are aware of the dangers of overdose.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
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.
Poisons are often not so clearly labeled.
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More than 50 overdoses happen in bathrooms every month in British Columbia. Public bathrooms can be made safer for everyone, including people who use substances.
Australians bought more than 65 million packs of paracetamol pain relief last year. TGA efforts to reduce its potential harms will need to take those who use it to manage pain into consideration.
Only a small amount of fentanyl is enough to be lethal.
AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
Fentanyl’s wide availability in the drug supply has led to an increase in unintentional overdoses. While prevention strategies are available, limited availability stymies their use.
We researched how much difference opioids like codeine, oxycodone or morphine make to osteoarthritis pain. We found they helped about as much as paracetamol. Yet they are far more dangerous.
People around the world mourned loved ones on International Overdose Awareness Day on Aug. 31, 2021.
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Side-effects for this unproven and potentially dangerous treatment range from vomiting and diarrhoea to seizures and a coma.
Naloxone can prevent deaths from opioid overdose, but there is no way to reverse the effects of benzodiazepine overdose without risk.
(THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward)
Fentanyl adulteration led to the replacement of heroin in the unregulated drug supply of British Columbia. Now that benzodiazepines are present in many opioids, are we headed towards a ‘new normal?’
Advocating for decriminalization carries many benefits, including reducing the need for police involvement.
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Decriminalization is an important step in addressing the overdose crisis, but it is crucial that other approaches — like regulation — are also in place.
Annie Storey holds a cross with a photo of her late son Alex Storey, before a march to mark the five-year anniversary of British Columbia declaring a public health emergency in the overdose crisis, in Vancouver, on April 14, 2021.
CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
New rules attempt to curb opioid-related deaths in Australia. These changes are a step in the right direction – but we need to tread carefully to avoid unintended consequences.