But that could change now that secobarbital — the drug most commonly used for assisted suicide in other countries — is available in Canada. Could help patients in rural areasGreen said the unavailability of secobarbital may, at least in part, explain the small number of self-administered deaths. Green expects that self-administered deaths will increase somewhat now that secobarbital is available. When she realized few people were using the self-administration option, Downie said she explored ways to make secobarbital available. It will provide the necessary contact information to health care providers and pharmacists who are helping patients who choose the self-administered death option.

Source: CBC News November 17, 2017 12:45 UTC