Just like the United States, Canada is also experiencing a boost of the opiate rate in a large number of its population. The Canadian government legalized the use of prescription heroin, and in 2017, marijuana will take its turn.
In just four months, it was reported that 256 Canadians had died of fentanyl overdose. It was the same substance that caused Prince's (musician) death and linked to "bad batches" of heroin that caused numerous deaths in Americans.
As Canadian officials cite the developing peril, Health Canada introduced suggestions in May that permit doctors to prescribe heroin to a few opioid addicts who don't react to treatments like methadone. The proposed rules were legislated on September 8 as an acknowledgment to the country's dilemma of opioid overdose, Zero Hedge reported.
Rather than authorizing the trade and consumption of heroin, the Canadian government tackles the overdose issue being the topmost health risk which enables doctors manages individuals already on the verge of lethal circumstance as a result of possible heroin consumption.
The Canadian government discreetly legalized the new drug regulations allowing doctors to commend pharmaceutical-grade heroin to cure extreme addicts who have not reacted to a more traditional application. It only means that Crosstown, a trail-blazing clinic in Vancouver will be apt to broaden its special heroin-maintenance agenda enticing addicts to come often and get free prescribed injections of authorized acquired heroin from a nurse. The procedure is the first of its kind in Canada as well as in the US but is such-like to the course used in eight countries in Europe.
This last week effort by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government is another measure in moving back the rules of the former government. The Conservatives at that time implemented a less drastic method to the battle against drug abuse and addiction.
Significantly, the present government unveiled plans in April of legalizing the sale of marijuana on 2017. It already has delegated a task force that will distinguish the regulation of marijuana, sale, and taxation, according to The Washington Post.
The recent arbitration denotes that any physician in Canada will now be able to file for a right to use diacetylmorphine, a pharmaceutical-grade heroin, under a special-access program. This, in turn, will benefit some addicts to satiate their drug reliance minus the huge risk of fatal overdose. They will be under the supervision of staffs who are ready with naloxone, an overdose antidote should it be needed.
However, Conservative Parliament member and spokesperson to health policy Collin Carrie is not at all pleased with the idea of prescription heroin as a medication option for addicts. He said, "Our policy is to take heroin out of the hands of addicts and not put it in their arms."
The government stated that this kind of therapy will be accessible for only a few minority users in instances where conventional options are already tried but incompetent. Moreover, it is significant to provide health-care workers different tools to deal with the opioid-overdose crisis.