Study: A cleaner illicit drug supply would cut overdose rates

published on May 26, 2022 by Len Gillis in Elliot Lake News

A new study in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) said that providing safe drug substances to addicted drug users might be a solution to the growing number of overdose deaths from the toxic and unregulated supply of street drugs.

The study reports that there are safer alternatives available in Canada that provide substance users with a “flexible safe supply program that provides several medication options, including fentanyl, and is integrated with other health care and social services.”

The report is authored by Sukhpreet Klaire, Christy Sutherland, Thomas Kerr and Mary Clare Kennedy, a group of physicians and researchers affiliated with the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver, and at UBC Okanagan in Kelowna. Details of the study were released Monday, May 16…