Health Canada to allow more access to prescription heroin to curb opioid crisis
VANCOUVER — Health Canada’s proposal to loosen regulations on importing prescription-grade heroin to treat opioid addiction is being hailed as a crucial step to reducing fentanyl-fuelled deaths across the country.
Drug policy campaigner Caitlin Shane, who is with the advocacy group Pivot Legal Society, said 931 overdose deaths last year in British Columbia alone point to the urgent need to treat people struggling with opioid use disorder.
“The need is so profound in B.C. and other provinces. It’s so necessary to look at the failures of drug prohibition and to see what other options are available to deal with this crisis,” Shane said.
“It seems that were this crisis related to any other population it would be dealt with differently, it would be more of a priority for every level of government,” she said, adding stigma against drug users has prevented increased access to medication for a legitimate health issue.