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First Canadian guidelines issued for opioid painkillers

Submitted by Nicole Seguin on Tue, 05/04/2010 - 7:00am
By: Carly Weeks, Globe and Mail
 
The first Canadian guidelines have been created to keep powerful opioid painkillers out of reach of potential abusers and put them into the hands of patients who need them.
 
The guidelines urge doctors to thoroughly assess patients before prescribing the painkilling drugs and closely monitor them to mitigate risks of abuse, addiction and overdose. Doctors must also stop prescribing opioids if patients don’t respond to treatment or there is a serious risk of addiction, misuse or other problems.
 

Province cracks down on OxyContin use

Submitted by Nicole Seguin on Thu, 03/25/2010 - 8:00pm

CBC News

The province is placing new restrictions on people's access to the prescription painkiller OxyContin in an effort to curb the illegal use of the drug.

OxyContin, a derivative of the opium poppy, is highly addictive and known on the street as "Hillbilly Heroin" because of the narcotic effects it produces.

The illegal sale of the drug has been increasing on the streets of Winnipeg in recent years.

A single tablet can sell for as little as $5, depending on available supply. In rural areas of Manitoba, the drug is often sold for much more, sometimes as high as $40 per dose.

OxyContin more abused than crack: rehab centre

Submitted by Nicole Seguin on Thu, 03/04/2010 - 3:57am
CBC News
 
OxyContin, the widely prescribed painkiller, has overtaken crack cocaine as Ottawa's most commonly abused drug, a residential drug treatment centre says.
 
OxyContin is a slow-release form of oxycodone and similar to morphine in its effect and addictiveness. When the drug is chewed or crushed and inhaled, it produces a rapid "heroin-like effect euphoria," according to Health Canada.
 
"It's a whole warm sensation throughout your body," said Jamie Walsh, a recovered OxyContin addict. "All your troubles, all your worries fade away."
 

Prescription drug abuse overtakes street drugs

Submitted by Nicole Seguin on Thu, 02/25/2010 - 11:10pm
Posted By KELLY MCSHANE, SPECIAL TO THE PACKET AND TIMES
 
A crackdown on street drugs may be the catalyst for a rise in the abuse of prescription medications, police say.
 
"The availability of street drugs has declined, which is good, but now people are switching over to prescription drugs, which are more difficult for us to control," said Insp. Don Goard, who heads up Orillia's OPP detachment.
 
Goard said the switch in drug sources was expected.

Specifically, Goard said there has been an increase in the use of OxyContin, a medication generally prescribed for the relief of severe pain.

Date-rape drug needs more control: report

Submitted by Nicole Seguin on Wed, 02/24/2010 - 6:41pm
CBC News
 
Governments around the world must step up their efforts to limit access to date rape drugs, sedatives that are secretly added to a person's drink to reduce their ability to resist sexual assault and remember it later, a watchdog said Wednesday.
 
Sexual predators can easily procure such drugs despite existing efforts to curb their misuse, the International Narcotics Control Board said in its annual report.
 

MPs reject bid to quash drug council appointment

Submitted by Nicole Seguin on Wed, 12/09/2009 - 1:26am
By: Mia Rabson, Winnipeg Free Press
 

OTTAWA -- A Manitoba MP fears the reputation of the agency responsible for funding health research in Canada is in jeopardy after a House of Commons committee rejected her motion to try to quash the appointment of a drug company executive to the institute's board.The health committee Monday debated the qualifications of Dr. Bernard Prigent, vice-president and medical director of Pfizer Canada, to the governing council of the Canadian Institutes for Health Research. His appointment was announced by Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq in October but an outpouring of concern, including a petition with over 3,600 signatures, led the committee to take it upon itself to review Prigent's credentials.

Pain relievers linked to more deaths: Study

Submitted by Nicole Seguin on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 8:20pm
By Laura Stone, Canwest News Service
 
OTTAWA — Experts call it Canada's hidden drug problem, one that kills more people in Ontario than heroin overdoses. The difference? Instead of scoring on the street, you can get it with the flick of doctor's pen.

Deaths from the misuse of prescription narcotic pain relievers have nearly doubled in 13 years, says a study released Monday.

When mixed with alcohol or prescription sedatives, prescription pain relievers, called opioids, can have fatal effects, say researchers involved in the study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

Bill to ease sale of HIV drugs passes vote

Submitted by Nicole Seguin on Thu, 12/03/2009 - 8:00am

CBC News

A bill that would make it easier to sell cheap HIV drugs to developing countries has passed second reading in the House of Commons.

Members of Parliament voted 143-127 on Wednesday in favour of sending Bill C-393 to committee.

New Democrat MP Judy Wasylycia-Leis sponsored the bill, which is designed to reform Canada's five-year-old access-to-medicines law.

Under Bill C-9, passed in May 2004, generic drug makers in Canada must obtain a special licence each time they want to sell a cheaper, generic version of a patented medicine to a developing country. They also have to pay royalties on any such sales to the patent-holding drugmakers, and the licence is good for only two years.

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