Oxycontin triggered an opioid crisis across Canada around 10 years ago after an explosion in opioid prescriptions in the country. In 2016, a study by Public Health Canada found that fentanyl was fuelling a rise in opioid-related deaths. The study said fentanyl, which was becoming more prevalent on the illegal drug market, was being increasingly mixed in with other illicit drugs, increasing the risk of an overdose. But making pharmaceutical opioids less available didn't change the fact that thousands of people were addicted to them, so many people turned to the streets and to other opioids, including heroin.Īs the demand for illicit opioids increased, drug dealers began adding the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl to the illicit supply of heroin to maximize profits. In 2012, the manufacturers of Ox圜ontin, Purdue Pharmaceuticals, reformulated the drug to make it harder to crush or melt down, with the intent of discouraging abuse. Dealers turned huge profits as the painkiller became a popular street drug, and Ox圜ontin eventually made its way from cities into remote communities. However, as more people began using the drug, more people started misusing it. Prescription opioid Ox圜ontin was introduced in 1996 and is widely seen as a catalyst to the opioid crisis that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives across North America. Drug manufacturers marketed opioids aggressively, particularly Ox圜ontin, which lawsuits claim they falsely suggested was safer and less prone to misuse than other opioids. "The entire drug supply has gotten a lot more messy since COVID started.… The borders closed, and the drug supply routes aren't the same and people are just using what they can," said Doris Payer, a co-ordinator and researcher with the CCSA. Supply volatility increased dramatically once pandemic lockdowns were declared in March 2020, according to the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA). Why is Canada's illicit drug supply increasingly deadly?ĭata suggests that the pandemic has a part to play in how toxic the supply has become. From January 2020 to June 2021, more than 9,800 Canadians died from an opioid overdose.Īccording to those who research and work with drug users, the country's increasingly toxic drug supply is to blame. ![]() The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) says 2020 was the deadliest year for overdose deaths since it started recording the numbers in 2016. Canada's overdose crisis has worsened during the pandemic, with the number of people dying from illicit drugs soaring to new heights in many provinces.
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