Canadians have one of the highest rates of prescription opioid use in the world - five times higher than in the U.K., for example. This is a tragedy because we don't do any better at reducing chronic pain - just at creating addiction and an epidemic of overdose death. Many reasons have caused this, including the influence and marketing tactics of the pharmaceutical industry, the willingness of Canadian insurers to pay for drugs like OxyContin, as well as mistaken assumptions about opioids by prescribers and dispensers. [continues 588 words]
Re: Safe sites ignore harm drawn outside Column, Dec. 9. Once again Rosie DiManno paints addiction as another selfish lifestyle. As a physician who treats patients with substance use problems, I can assure you that this is not an accurate picture. By definition, addiction is the continued use of a drug despite the harm it causes one medically, psychologically, socially, financially, and in every other way. Like other chronic diseases and maladies affecting us, addiction has genetic, environmental, social and cultural determinants. There are parts of the brain that are "hijacked" by the drug, and breaking free is not only a matter of willpower or attending a 21-day treatment program. Recovery is a complex process that needs to engage people with addictions earlier in their disease through approaches recommended in the Toronto Drug Strategy rather than alienate them till they hit "rock bottom." [continues 217 words]
