OTTAWA — Canada’s opioid crisis claimed the lives of more than 11,500 people between January 2016 and December 2018, the Public Health Agency of Canada reported Thursday. New data shows that 4,460 people died in 2018 alone and many of these deaths were related to the contamination of the illegal drug supply, the agency said. The federal health agency said an analysis of national trends suggests there was a significant increase in death rates between January 2016 and June 2017, noting the rates then stayed high from July 2017 to December 2018. There has also been a push to decriminalize simple possession, including by Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, who is putting forward a private member’s bill proposing the removal of penalties for simple possession of drugs from the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. The Conservatives on the health committee issued a dissenting report saying that several other things need to be done before decriminalization, pointing out a number of differences between Canada and Portugal.

Source: National Post June 13, 2019 18:56 UTC