Opioid- and Stimulant-related Harms in Canada: Key findings - Government of Canada. 

CATIE webinar: Using legal approaches to support the health of people who use drugs

- presented with HIV Legal Network. Speakers: Sandra Ka Hon Chu, Nicole Kief, Avinsh Nanda, Shannon Down, and Ruth Cameron. Watch now.

NSSCoP Webinar for Pharmacists: CDSA Compliance for Pharmacies Dispensing Safer Supply - Inventory Control, Loss Theft Report, and Security. Watch now.

Public Health On Call: Safer Supply: A Novel Approach to Reducing Overdose Deaths

A Dose of Reality Podcast (Ensemble, Moncton NB): Closure of Ontario Safe Consumption Sites

Crackdown Podcast: Low Dead Space

Blueprints of Disruption Podcast: Harm Reduction and Safe Consumption

Resources related to the Ontario CTS closures, HART Hubs, potential legislation

- NSSCoP spreadsheet includes documents from the Ministry of Health, statements and media releases, letters of support templates and actions underway, a list of media coverage, and key messages (in progress). Note: this is not exhaustive. The spreadsheet permits comments, so please comment with additions.

Conference
Addictions and Mental Health Ontario - Stronger Together: Promoting sustainability in mental health and addictions. October 21st and 22nd, Hilton Toronto.
 

Urbanoski, K., et al. (2024). Access and barriers to safer supply prescribing during a toxic drug emergency: a mixed methods study of implementation in British Columbia, Canada | Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy. Subst Abuse Treat Prev Policy 19, 44 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13011-024-00625-7

Objectives of this study were to (1) identify barriers to accessing safer supply prescribing among people who use substances; and (2) determine whether and how barriers differed between people with and without prescriptions, and between urban and rural settings.

Methods:  Participatory mixed-methods study guided by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research. Participants (≥ 19 years old) had received a safer supply prescription or were seeking one (survey n = 353; interviews n = 54).

Results

• Participants who had a prescription were more likely to be living in a large urban centre, compared to medium/smaller centres and rural areas (78.5% vs. 65.8%, standardized mean difference = 0.286)
• Participants who did not have a prescription were more likely to report an array of structural, interpersonal, and health-related barriers (compared to those who had a prescription). 
• Participants linked experiences of barriers to stigma and criminalization, low availability of services, lack of information and prescribers, not being able to get what they need, and anxieties, worries and doubts stemming from personal circumstances. 
• There were no notable differences between large urban centres and medium/smaller centres and rural areas in the presence of specific types of barriers.

Conclusions

Findings demonstrate restricted access to safer supply prescribing outside of large urban centres and provide future targets for enhancing implementation. Attention is needed to promote equity and counter systemic barriers in the implementation of responses to the ongoing toxic drug emergency.

CATIE: Drug Decriminalization Under Attack | CATIE 
 

Kleinman, RA. (2024). Fentanyl, carfentanil and other fentanyl analogues in Canada’s illicit opioid supply: A cross-sectional study - ScienceDirect 
 

Hedden-Clayton, et al. (2024). “If everyone knew about this, how many lives could we save?”: Do drug suppliers have a role in reducing overdose risk? - ScienceDirect 
 

Robinson, Farrokhayir, and Fischer. (2024). The associations of supervised consumption services with the rates of opioid‐related mortality and morbidity outcomes at the public health unit level in Ontario (Canada): A controlled interrupted time‐series analysis 
 

Wang, Volkow, and Wang. (2024). Semaglutide and Opioid Overdose Risk in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes and Opioid Use Disorder | Diabetes | JAMA Network Open 
 

Del Pozo, Park, and Taylor. (2024). Knowledge, Attitudes, and Beliefs About Opioid Use Disorder Treatment in Primary Care | Substance Use and Addiction Medicine | JAMA Network 
 

Bauer, et al. (2024). Cultural considerations for substance use and substance use disorders among Black men 
 

Holland, et al. (2024). Making sense of drug use and dependence—A scoping review of mass media interventions intended to reduce stigma towards people who use drugs
 

McNeely, Wang, and Abadi. (2024). Addiction Consultation Services for Opioid Use Disorder Treatment Initiation and Engagement: A Randomized Clinical Trial 
 

Smiley-McDonald, et al. (2024). Criminal legal system engagement among people who use drugs in Oregon following decriminalization of drug possession - ScienceDirect 
 

Bluthenthal, et al. (2024). Racialized environments and syringe services program implementation: County-level factors
 

Loizaga-Velder, A. and Loizaga Pazzi, A. 2024. Traditional Medicine, Culture, and Psychedelic Science: New Pathways for Recovery from Substance Use Disorders 
 

Mburu, et al. (2024). Factors associated with medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) treatment success during the pregnancy and postpartum periods: A scoping review  
 

International

Overdose Prevention Centers Are Health Care: Treat Them as Such

‘They died because they tried it once’: a US high school was ravaged by fentanyl - and came back from the brink 

A synthetic opioid more potent than fentanyl is spreading across Australia with deadly consequences - ABC News 

Young people addicted to ketamine a national problem, says UK expert | Drugs | The Guardian 

Fentanyl was killing their friends – and no one was talking about it. So these teens stepped up 

Opioid deaths now lowest in 3 years, but still worse than pre-pandemic - CBS News 

New class of opioids that may be more potent than fentanyl emerges globally 

Can semaglutide help reduce opioid overdoses? What new study suggests 

US will let more people take methadone at home | AP News 

For Black and Brown Communities, the Overdose Crisis Is Still Escalating 

"Cannabis Substitution Therapy": Can Cannabis Ease Opioid Withdrawal? - TalkingDrugs

National

Vancouver wastewater has the highest level of fentanyl byproduct in Canada, by far 

Levels of Drugs in the Wastewater of Canadian Cities 

Purdue Pharma Canada wants to discuss Ontario's safer supply rules 

Nursing is harm reduction: Providing care in the midst of our overdose crisis - Healthy Debate 

BC

B.C. Green Party pledges expanded safer supply, treatment regulation for toxic drug crisis  

B.C. to expand involuntary care for those with addiction issues | CBC News 

B.C. to open 'highly secure' involuntary care facilities | CTV News 

One third of B.C.’s ‘publicly funded substance-use treatment beds’ don’t provide any treatment 

Criticism levelled at B.C. Premier David Eby following involuntary care expansion  

Eby and Rustad Agree on Involuntary Treatment. Experts Say They’re Wrong | The Tyee 

B.C. to introduce involuntary care for people with concurrent addiction, mental disorders, premier says - The Globe and Mail 

B.C.’s plan for involuntary addiction treatment is a step back in our response to the overdose crisis 

Harm-reduction vending machines removed from Vancouver Island hospitals - BC  

Better support urged after suspected group overdose in B.C. | CBC.ca 

BC Government Keeps On Caving to Anti-Harm Reduction Pressure

Drug users slam removal of harm reduction kiosks at Island Health facilities  

Indigenous-led non-profit look to Icelandic model to prevent and reduce youth substance use in Port Alberni 

Vancouver clinic set to open supervised inhalation rooms | CBC News 

Health data collected from Indigenous Peoples in Canada has a dark history. One Indigenous company is turning that around 

B.C. Conservatives vow to shut down safe-consumption sites | CBC News 

Vancouver's liberal approach to fentanyl crisis may be changing - CBS San Francisco 

AB

Alberta’s recovery model needs to prioritize harm reduction - The Gateway 

Alberta government to close Red Deer overdose prevention site, add new recovery services 

Province provides 3.4 million to transition Red Deer away from drug consumption site - Todayville 

Why Alberta’s OD Figures Don’t Make a Case Against Harm Reduction

Recovery Alberta, the first new agency to be carved out of Alberta Health Services, officially begins operations 

SK 

Drug toxicity deaths in Sask. seemingly on course to match record set in 2023 

MB

Others are closing consumption sites, so why is Manitoba opening one? | Winnipeg Sun 

First annual Fentanyl Awareness Day Walk in Manitoba honours those lost to overdose - Winnipeg | Globalnews.ca 

Better harm reduction access will save lives, southwestern Manitoba addiction advocates say

ON - for media coverage of the Ontario CTS closures and HART hubs - please see this document

Ontario supervised consumption site users speak out on closures

The closure of supervised consumption sites is a dangerous denial of evidence and human rights 

York Region tackling opioid crisis without supervised consumption sites - Barrie News 

How the death of my baby shaped what I think about safe consumption sites 

Ula Chalmers 'should still be here': Inside the life and death of a Toronto girl, aged 16 

Scaled-back naloxone program will result in lives lost, say advocates 

"It's life or death": Harm reduction workers on Doug Ford's decision to close safe consumption sites - Toronto Life 

Community rallies behind Kensington Market drug consumption site | CBC News 

Supervised consumption sites make everyone safer! - CUPE Ontario 

She's trying to stay sober from a drug addiction. Here's what she says would help | CBC News

Sault scrambles to prepare bid for homelessness, addiction hub  

Quitting fentanyl: Housing program a key ally in fight against addiction and homelessness 

QC

Local group holds march in support of people in addiction recovery 

Indigenous people in Quebec want more than an apology from CMA. They want 'concrete actions' | CBC News

YK/NWT/NVT

Atlantic

Inpatient addiction consultation pilot program making a difference | SaltWire 

N.B. candidates, front-line workers weigh in on Higgs's injection site comments 

Higgs says he won't approve any safe injection sites if re-elected | CBC News