How Canada got addicted to fentanyl
Manufactured in China, it easily crosses our porous borders, triggering a heroin-like bliss in users – and, all too often, death
The Globe and Mail (Canada)
Friday, April 8, 2016
Friday, April 8, 2016
The supply chain for illicit fentanyl begins in China, but the problems Canada is experiencing start right here at home: No other country in the world consumes more prescription opioids on a per-capita basis, according to a recent United Nations report. The widespread use of prescription opioids is behind the rise of a new class of drug addicts, many of whom are turning to the black market to feed their habit. In British Columbia and Alberta, the two hardest-hit provinces, fatal overdoses linked to fentanyl soared from 42 in 2012 to 418 in 2015. (See also: As the opioid crisis shows, politics shouldn’t drive public health)
