2019-05-16 from cbc.ca
Health Canada has approved injectable hydromorphone — a drug commonly used to manage pain — to treat patients with severe opioid use disorder.
According to the department, the change makes Canada the first in the world to approve the drug for such use, all in an effort to get the tragic overdose crisis under control.
"Increased access to a safe supply of prescription opioids is an innovative tool that will help save lives," said Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor in a social media post on Wednesday
According to Health Canada, 10,337 people were killed by opioid-related drug overdoses between Jan. 2016 and Sept. 2018.
In Vancouver, Dr. Scott MacDonald has been running the Crosstown Clinic for about 14 years, where patients have been prescribed heroin and injectable hydromorphone beyond the regulated use approved by Health Canada.
Read more here