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.
Photo by Michelle Siu for the Globe and Mail
Anna Mehler Paperny, Global News
A year after provincial governments clamped down on the most notorious name in prescription-drug abuse, other, more powerful, less regulated opioids are filling the void – with sometimes fatal results.
OxyContin’s off the market, its tamper-resistant replacement tougher to get. But Canadians are popping more pills than ever: In 2010, for the first time, Canada edged past the United States to become the highest opioid-consuming country, per capita, in the world.
And more Canadians are dying from it: In 2011, twice as many Ontarians were killed by opioid overdoses as drivers killed in car accidents, according to coroner’s statistics given to Global News. That toll has more than tripled since 2002.
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