Prescription opioids among older Canadians ‘a silent epidemic’: Report
Addiction to painkillers in seniors can lead to significant adverse effects such as sedation, impaired motor coordination, and increased risk of depression. Seniors are at a higher risk of opioid misuse due to the prescription of these medications for pain relief. Canada’s opioid crisis has also affected seniors, with them being the demographic that has […]
Walmart agrees to $3.1 billion opioid settlement framework
Walmart agreed to the framework of a $3.1 billion settlement, which resolves allegations from multiple states’ attorneys general that the company failed to regulate opioid prescriptions contributing to the nationwide opioid crisis. The settlement, according to the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James, who co-led a coalition of attorneys general in the […]
Canada’s Opioid Crisis Worsens
Some parents are losing not one, but two children to drug overdoses, as Canada’s opioid crisis worsens. The sheer scale of Canada’s ‘other epidemic’ means that some families are suffering multiple losses from drug overdoses, and experts say that this phenomenon is no longer rare Source: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-canada-opioid-crisis-drug-overdose-parents-grief/
A record 105,752 Americans died of a drug overdose from October 2020 to 2021 as nation’s opioid epidemic continues to spiral, CDC reports
The United States’ drug epidemic set another grim record in October, according to recently released data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The agency revealed that an estimated 105,752 Americans died of a drug overdose between October 2020 to October 2021, the most ever recorded in a 12-month period. It was also […]
Opioid’s Impact on the Brain Felt Across Generations, Study in Rats Suggests
New scientific evidence has emerged that opioids, the cause of an ongoing public health crisis, can have a biological impact not only on those who use them, but on their progeny. In a study of rats, males with a father repeatedly exposed to morphine tended to be more sensitive to the pain-relieving effects of the […]
J&J, distributors finalize $26B landmark opioid settlement
Drugmaker Johnson & Johnson and three major distributors finalized nationwide settlements over their role in the opioid addiction crisis Friday, an announcement that clears the way for $26 billion to flow to nearly every state and local government in the U.S. Taken together, the settlements are the largest to date among the many opioid-related cases […]
Last responders: Mental health damage from Covid could last a generation, professionals say
Aside from the obvious physical impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, health professionals have told CNBC that many people are struggling with the immense emotional and societal changes it has brought. What’s more, they’re finding it hard to adapt to a “new normal” now that lockdowns are starting to ease. One study looked at the global […]
CDC: Drug Overdose Deaths Reach All-Time High In 2020-2021, But Here Are Some Promising Signs
Since the pandemic started, the opioid-use crisis has gotten worse, much worse. Provisional data posted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed that drug overdose deaths overall reached a new record high. During a 12-month period from May 2020 to April 2021, over 100,000 people died of drug overdoses in the U.S. That […]
‘COVID-19 fatigue’ could lead to low moods, more anxiety and public health measures being ignored: B.C. researcher
With most of B.C.’s COVID-19 restrictions renewed for several more weeks, some might be feeling especially exhausted by the latest wave of the pandemic. The tiredness resulting from theses cycles has been referred to by some as “COVID fatigue,” and one researcher at the University of British Columbia says it can lead to some […]
CBC News : I watched the opioid crisis from the front lines. I’m glad I’m leaving
As a Calgary firefighter, I’ve seen the opioid epidemic escalate from a “new thing” into a full-blown national nightmare. In 2014, I transferred to one of the busier districts in the city, near Chinook Mall where overdoses soon became commonplace. At first they occured where you might expect them: derelict corners in industrial spaces […]
