Belleville declares overdose emergency

Belleville declares overdose emergency

On February 8, Belleville’s mayor Neil Ellis declared an overdose emergency following 23 overdoses occurring in the city over the span of two days. While none of the overdoses occurring that week were fatal, the spike in drug overdoses was so significant that, when 14...
Stigma creates obstacles to opioid dependency treatment

Stigma creates obstacles to opioid dependency treatment

A recent opinion article authored by Dr. Mark S. Gould and published by Psychology Today discusses the impact of negative attitudes and stigma towards individuals affected by opioid use disorder on their access to treatment. According to Dr. Gould, stigma can...
Kitchener drug checking program finds xylazine

Kitchener drug checking program finds xylazine

According to recent data released by the Kitchener drug testing program at the city’s consumption, the powerful tranquilizer xylazine is “rampant” in the local illicit drug supply. To date, the program has tested nearly 1,000 samples from 300 individuals since it...
Saskatchewan launches new drug alert system

Saskatchewan launches new drug alert system

Saskatchewan initiated a new Provincial Drug Alert System in January, aimed to enable the Ministry of Health to improve coordination of the issuance of drug alerts and assist partner organizations with monitoring the toxicity of illicit drugs across Saskatchewan. As...
Calgary mobile service helps prevent overdoses

Calgary mobile service helps prevent overdoses

A recent article published by CBC and authored by Boshika Gupta examined the effectiveness of Calgary’s drug checking pilot program, Drug Checkin YYC, launched by the local advocacy organization Alberta Alliance Who Educate and Advocate Responsibly (AAWEAR). The...