The latest news articles featuring BC Centre on Substance Use.
How doctors and big pharma helped create North America’s fentanyl crisis
June 22, 2016 | VICE News
Before fentanyl became the latest villain in a full-blown overdose crisis in Canada, Kelly Lanktree was in need of something to numb the excruciating pain in her knee. She had tumbled down stairs at work in 2009 and her doctor steered her towards OxyContin. The drug, she found, was not only effectiv...
Dead inmate had opiate in blood, pills in pants: ‘How come nothing was noticed?’
June 22, 2016 | Metro News
HALIFAX – A Cape Breton man who died in his cell had near-fatal levels of methadone in his blood as he entered the jail and a bag full of pills in his pocket, according to an autopsy report that has raised questions about how jails monitor dangerously intoxicated inmates. … Dr. Evan Wood...
CBC: Interview with Dr. Seonaid Nolan on W-18
June 08, 2016 | CBC News
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BC addictions specialist warns against ‘mass hysteria’ but admits W-18 ‘very scary’
June 08, 2016 | CBC News
A BC addictions expert is warning people not to become hysterical about W-18, but is urging drug users to protect themselves by taking tinytest doses of any opioidthey buy illegally. W-18is a synthetic opioid painkiller developed in Alberta decades ago and abandoned, but now it’s showing up ag...
Among veterans, opioid prescription requests down in step with rise in medical pot
June 06, 2016 | The Globe and Mail
Fewer Canadian veterans have sought prescription opioids and tranquillizers in recent years, while at the same time prescriptions for medical marijuana have skyrocketed. It is not clear whether the two are related, but the trend echoes what researchers have found in U.S. states with medical-cannabis...
