Sep 17

Public Addiction Treatment in Newfoundland and Labrador: Drug Rehab and Alcohol Treatment...

There are four provincial health authorities in Newfoundland and Labrador. In order to access addiction treatment in Newfoundland, you must determine if you are located in the Eastern Health, Central Health, Western Health, or Labrador-Grenfell Health region. The health authorities offer services for both substance use and process addictions like gambling, as well as services for those who are using and those who are affected by a loved one's use. Newfoundland offers outpatient counseling,...
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Sep 13

Drug Fact Sheet: Opioids and Opiates

With the ongoing opioid crisis being felt in Toronto, Vancouver, and most towns and cities across North America, many could use a refresher on what opioids are and why they affect the human body so strongly. In the past, opioid referred only to synthetic opiates, drugs that were chemically created to mimic opium. Opiates referred only to drugs derived from opium that is naturally occurring in the poppy plant. However, most medical professionals and the media now use "opioid" as the general...
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Aug 31

International Overdose Awareness Day – Drug Overdose Statistics in Canada

Since its inception in 2001, August 31st has been International Overdose Awareness Day (IOAD). It began in Melbourne, Australia and since then has been adopted by both government and non-government organizations to hold events to raise awareness and commemorate the loss of life. The climbing accidental opioid-related death toll in Canada has made many Canadians well aware of the danger of overdose. This blog will look at what an overdose is, as well as the current state of opioid-related...
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Jun 12

Drug Fact Sheet: Methadone and Suboxone

North America is in the grips of an opioid epidemic and on the front lines of pharmaceutical relief are Methadone and Suboxone. Many Canadian cities, especially Vancouver, Calgary, and Toronto are feeling the effects of hundreds of deaths due to opioid overdoses.  This fact sheet will help decipher exactly what Methadone and Suboxone are, how they help opioid users during detox, and what changes are happening in Canada to help more people access these medications. Interested persons can browse...
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Feb 22

Help Finding Public Drug and Alcohol Treatment in Alberta

This month, learn how to access public drug and alcohol treatment in Alberta in the next installment of  Provincial Snapshot. Each month Canada Drug Rehab is outlining the steps you must take to access public drug and alcohol treatment in each province. If you read the blog on Alberta's current mental health and addiction strategies, you will know that mental health and addiction are being brought under the same umbrella. Until that happens, the services are still split so you must access...
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Jan 22

Grass Roots Efforts to Battle the Opioid Crisis

Two recent news stories show that there are many ways of battling the opioid crisis. Former BC Minister for Health, Terry Lake, has recently stated he believes that marijuana could play a part in harm reduction, and could help people come off opioids. The Roshni Clinic is a medical clinic in BC and a social services office in Alberta working to provide support to those in the South Asian community affected by drugs and alcohol. Marijuana an Option for Opioid Reduction? Terry Lake was the...
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