Yesterday, we discussed that Canada was proposing to make marijuana legal on the federal level. Marijuana is not federally legal in the United States, although a handful of states have deemed it legal to use for recreational purposes and about half of U.S. states allow their residents to use medical forms of the drug. (Medical marijuana is legal in Canada on the federal level.)
But while the United States and Canada might differ on their federal governments’ approach to marijuana laws, the two countries are startlingly similar in another way: both countries have huge numbers of people addicted to opiates.
An opiate or opioid is a drug related to opium. Opiates can be illegal, like heroin, but they’re more commonly prescription drugs, such as codeine, morphine, hydrocodone, oxycodone (OxyContin), or Vicodin (a combination of hydrocodone and acetaminophen).
These prescription drugs are legal if doctors prescribe them and the people with the prescriptions are the ones using them. That’s not often the case, however, since sometimes people steal the drugs or buy them from drug dealers.
Why do people turn to theft or buying opiates on the street? The answer’s not simple. Much of the reason seems to stem from the nature of opiates themselves. They’re highly addictive. People might become hooked on the drugs, but they might use all of the pills in their prescription. They might go to their doctors for refills, but doctors are becoming increasingly aware of how addictive opiates are, so they might refuse to renew their patients’ prescriptions. Patients still want the drugs, though, so they look to obtain them however they can, which includes buying them from drug dealers.
Large numbers of Canadians and Americans are experiencing the opiate crisis. Government leaders are proposing solutions. Leaders in the Canadian province of British Columbia suggest that the Canadian federal government finance more programs to treat heroin addiction. Vancouver, a prominent city in British Columbia, already sponsors a site that allows heroin users to inject the drug under medical supervision. The city also sponsors programs that allow drug users to exchange their used needles for clean ones, a practice that can help stop the spread of disease associated with injecting drugs.
These innovations and proposals illustrate that innovation and dedication might be helpful tools for fighting opiate addiction.
