Changing nature of Canada’s overdose crisis calls for more aggressive response, experts say

published on January 3, 2023 by Darren Major in CBC News

An evolving mix of opioid cocktails and changing consumption habits mean governments must now respond more aggressively to the overdose crisis, experts say.

More than 32,000 Canadians have died of toxic drug overdoses since 2016, according to data released by Health Canada last month.

Over 3,500 people died of overdoses in the first half of 2022 (data is available only up to June). That’s almost 20 people per day, and more than half the number of people who died of overdoses during the first year of the pandemic.

The federal government has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to combat the crisis by funding community-led projects such as safe consumption sites and safe supply programs and improving access to naloxone, medication that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose…