The latest news articles featuring BC Centre on Substance Use.
New opioid restrictions create greater drug crisis, doctors say
June 25, 2017 | The Globe and Mail
Desperate for relief from unbearable pain following knee surgery, Lorna Bird says she was forced to buy drugs from the Downtown Eastside streets of Vancouver when her doctor stopped prescribing an opioid in response to new standards aimed at preventing fatal overdoses. “I started with heroin b...
Fentanyl spiral: How the guilt and shame of addiction stole a B.C. man’s life
June 24, 2017 | CBC News
Widow says her husband’s death reflects what’s missing from drug treatment and prevention in Canada All it took was a single beer for Murray Shaw’s life to unravel. The moment came on a bike holiday in January 2016 in San Diego while he was with some friends from the Vancouver area...
British Columbia is saving lives by giving drugs to opioid-addicted prisoners
June 23, 2017 | National Observer
British Columbia is dramatically expanding a key drug treatment program in prisons, winning praise from experts who say jails are important venues for reducing drug-related crime, overdoses, and transmission of HIV and Hepatitis C. In Ottawa, federal prison officials now face growing calls to follow...
With legalization coming, researchers implore federal government to make it easier to study cannabis
June 19, 2017 | The Globe and Mail
With cannabis legalization on the horizon next year, the federal government must make it easier to study the potential medical benefits of the drug and evaluate how ending prohibition might affect society, according to an open letter to politicians from dozens of the country’s leading academic...
Support effort to learn more about impact of cannabis, researchers urge Ottawa
June 19, 2017 | CTV News
OTTAWA — The federal government needs to make research into the effects of pot a priority as Ottawa works to legalize and regulate marijuana by next July, a coalition of academics said Monday. In an open letter, more than 50 researchers from across the country said policy-makers should support...
