Health Canada overturns ban on medical heroin
The reversal comes as B.C. fights an uphill battle against illicit drug overdose deaths, fueled in large part by illicit fentanyl
The Globe and Mail (Canada)
Friday, May 13, 2016
Friday, May 13, 2016
Health Canada has moved to allow doctors to apply for special access to prescribe pharmaceutical-grade heroin to severe addicts, which would overturn a ban imposed by the previous Conservative government. The federal department said in a statement that a “significant body of evidence” supports the medical use of diacetylmorphine. “Diacetylmorphine is permitted in a number of other jurisdictions, such as Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Switzerland, to support a small percentage of patients who have not responded to other treatment options, such as methadone and buprenorphine,” the statement said.
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