November 9, 2014 – Anna Mehler Paperny, Global News
Ontario’s opioid epidemic is more deadly than ever, new numbers obtained by Global News indicate. And the province hasn’t shifted its tactics to deal with the evolving health crisis killing more than 500 Ontarians a year.
Oct. 30, 2014 – Anna Mehler Paperny, Global News
Almost three years ago, the angry loner, pious Muslim and crack addict who would shoot up Canada’s War Memorial and storm its Parliament stood in court and begged for help.
As far as we know, he got none.
The trip was meant to be quick and celebratory: A night at a Canadian Medical Association gala recognizing our team’s work – in this case, for a piece dissecting vaccination rates by Toronto school – then back to Toronto, with a quick stop in between to meet Ottawa contacts.
July 14, 2014 – Anna Mehler Paperny, Global News
Nineteen thousand, two hundred and thirty-seven tablets.
That’s how many pills an Ontario pharmacy employee was able to steal before being caught in February – by far the biggest oxycodone theft reported from a Canadian hospital or pharmacy since January 2012, according to numbers Health Canada gave Global News.
July 14, 2014 – Anna Mehler Paperny, Global News
Canada’s next painkiller crackdown won’t come from Ontario.
Its removal of OxyNEO from the Ontario Drug Benefit successfully sidelined Purdue’s replacement for what was once the most notoriously addictive opioid – OxyContin.
And the province now collects data on all prescriptions filled, not just those the government pays for.
But tackling Canada’s fastest-growing addiction is turning into a game of whack-a-mole: Prescriptions for just about every other potent painkiller are up – way up – in the past two years.
June 16, 2014 – Anna Mehler Paperny, Global News
Federal Health Minister Rona Ambrose is considering requiring certain prescription drugs be tamper-resistant – and she wants to know what you think.
Anna Mehler Paperny – Global News
The short answer is yes. Kinda: Health Canada has approved funding for medically administered heroin for 16 addicts – and only these 16 – under its Special Access Program. The program’s designed to provide nonmarketed drugs to people suffering from “serious or life-threatening conditions when conventional therapies have failed, are unsuitable, or unavailable.”
It has since been slammed by Health Minister Rona Ambrose on the grounds that its decision contradicts Conservative government policy.
Anna Mehler Paperny – Global News
Toronto’s board of health became Ontario’s first governing body to endorse supervised injection sites this week, but the momentum may stop there: The province isn’t interested.
Click to compare Canada’s hydromorph contin consumption with the rest of the world.
Used to be that America could easily claim the title of world opioid capital. But when it comes to the most powerful prescription drugs, Canada is now ahead – in part because of higher hydromorphone use.
Anna Mehler Paperny, Global News
Ontario Health Minister Deb Matthews wants to re-examine who’s allowed to prescribe opioids, how they prescribe them and what pills the government pays for.
The drop in OxyContin and its replacement OxyNEO is “a success,” she told Global News in an interview Tuesday. But “there’s more to be done. … Who should be able to prescribe these drugs? What form is the right form? These are very important questions.”
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