Could a medically supervised distribution program be the answer to the opioid crisis?
We need to think of ways that start to address the root of the problem, which is a change in the drug supply
Monday, January 15, 2018
Canada should develop a regulated program to distribute opioids and prevent deaths if it wants to address the opioid overdose crisis, argues a commentary in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ). According to Dr. Mark Tyndall from the B.C. Health Centre for Disease Control in Vancouver, the public health response to any poisoning epidemic should be to provide safer alternatives for people at risk. In this case, he says, this would be to provide a regulated supply of pharmaceutical-grade opioids to people who have the highest risk of overdose. Tyndall suggests that provinces roll out medically supervised dispensing of opioids, dispensing of slow-release oral morphine or large-scale dispensing of hydromorphone pills, which he says are inexpensive and available.
