Small city's opioid addiction task force serves as case study for a proactive approach to drug addiction.

In a small city approximately 125 kilimetres northeast of Toronto in Sourthern Ontario, a drug task force has been created to tackle opioid addiction.

In May of 2009, the city of Peterborough, Ont., created a drug task force, partnering the Peterborough County-City Health Unit and members of the city police force, after police noticed that opioids were rapidly becoming a problem, replacing even crack-cocaine as the city’s drug of choice.

The primary goal of the task force is to address drug addiction at the root, concentrating on prevention over prohibition. Working with schools and students, the task force is looking to stop drug use before addiction sets in.

Previously teenagers who were caught with marijuana or prescription painkillers would simply be warned and have the drugs confiscated. Now, Peterborough police have become proactive, instituting instead a referral system whereby police refer caught teens to community agencies that offer drug counselling.

They are then monitored on an on-going basis to see if they are charged or caught with drugs again.

The task force sees drug counseling as a chance to get to the root of addiction problems before it begins, addressing why these teens are using drugs to begin with.

The previous warning system, conversely, had no means of attending to the why, simply the what.

Peterborough’s OxyContin task force is also looking to end drug trafficking in schools with a focus on building strong relationships with both teachers and students, instead of filling hallways with uniformed officers.

All in all, this small city is an interesting case study on a proactive approach to drug addiction that appears to yield results. The task force focuses on building relationships and networks within the community, looking to also include the medical community including both physicians and dentists to address the source of these prescription medications.

The vast majority of teens find their drugs in their own medicine cabinets.

Many local pharmacists in Peterborough are now passing the message along, encouraging parents to keep track of and secure their prescription medications.

Opioids are a class of drugs that include such prescription painkillers as OxyContin and Percocet, as well as heroin.

Source: The Peterborough Examiner

According to a new report from the CBC, OxyContin has become the most commonly abused drug in Ottawa.

OxyContin has overtaken crack as the most commonly abused drug in Ottawa. In 2007-08 alone, about $54 million worth of OxyContin prescriptions were filled in Ontario. As well, in the five-year period between 2004 and 2009, over 450 deaths in the province were associated with OxyContin abuse.

However, the province is also taking this trend seriously.

Recently, the Ontario Health Ministry announced that it would lead a national investigation into OxyContin addiction and use. The province is also looking at imposing new guidelines for prescribing the drug and introducing a tracking system to help curb “double doctoring”, where patients seek out several health professionals in order to obtain multiple prescriptions for either personal use or resale.

OxyContin is highly lucrative, with very high profit margins. In response, Ottawa has also seen a rash of pharmacy robberies.

OxyContin is a prescription painkiller from the oxycodone family. As an opiate, it is similar to morphine and heroin. When chewed or crushed and snorted, it produces a rapid heroin-like euphoria.

OxyContin, and prescription medications in general, have come under great scrutiny with several celebrity deaths associated with their abuse.

The rise of Oxycontin addiction has been seen across Canada.

Source: CBC News

Mephedrone, the new drug to hit the party scene in the UK, will soon make its appearance across the pond, say experts.

Mephedrone, also known as Meow, Drone or Bubble, may reach our shores in a matter of months, say experts. The latest drug to hit the party/club scene in the UK is currently the most popular of a number of “legal highs”.

Although many of these drugs have since been banned, Mephedrone is currently only under review. Sold legally as a plant food, it has been linked to at least two deaths.

Mephedrone has already been banned in Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Sweden and the Channel Island of Jersey.

According to Health Canada, it is a controlled substance, but researchers say, according to the Globe and Mail, that nonetheless the drug has been found here.

Mephedrone is a synthetic stimulant, a member of a new generation of drugs synthesized, experts say, by chemists in China and Southeast Asia. A cross between ecstasy and cocaine, it produces a sense of euphoria, heightened alertness, lowered inhibitions and increased talkativeness.

Mephedrone is a white, off-white, or sometimes yellowish powder that is snorted or swallowed from wraps of paper. Side effects, however, include anxiety, depression, short-term memory loss, heart palpitations, excessive sweating, headaches, and blurred vision. The drug is also particularly dangerous as many users report that once started, it is very hard to stop, leading to insomnia and hallucinogens.

Possibly most dangerous of all, Mephedrone is sold online legitimately and cheaply, making it both easily and widely available.

Highly addictive, the drug poses also quite a high risk of overdose and addiction.

Last year, the drug was hardly known in the UK. One year later, it has quickly become a favourite among drug users in the club scene. A recent survey found that it is now the fourth most popular drug, with 41.7 percent of respondents reporting to have tried it, and 33.6 percent having used it in the last 30 days.

Read user testimonials gathered by the BBC News.

Source: The Globe and Mail and The Guardian

According to new reports, Oxycontin is quickly becoming a drug of choice for Manitobans.

Due to geographic location and socio-economic similarities, many once feared the invasion of methamphetamines into Canada’s heartland. But, today, according to new reports, Oxycontin has quickly become the drug of choice throughout the province, wreaking havoc on many lives.

According to officials, Oxycontin, often referred to as “hillbilly heroin”, invaded Manitoba without warning, press coverage or public hype.

Law enforcement officials and addiction treatment workers, those most often of the frontlines of drug life, have been reporting:

• continuous police raids
• an increase in the number of addicts seeking drug addiction treatment 
• an increase in the number of overdoses 
• addiction treatment programs being overrun with Oxycontin addicts

The profile of the typical Oxycontin addict, they say, is a young male either in school or working who comes, most likely, from in intact suburban family.

Furthermore, they are asking for education programs on the risks and signs of Oxycontin abuse and addiction before the problem worsens, and the need for more beds in addiction treatment facility, especially for women.

Oxycontin is a powerful opiod, much like heroin, which has also been growing significantly in Winnipeg.

Treatments for Oxycontin addiction include:

• residential addiction treatment or 
• methadone therapy, for the short and medium-term

both in combination with individual psychotherapy to treat the root problems of addiction.




Source: The Winnipeg Sun