The report, published Thursday on the network’s website, shows that opioid-related deaths often involved other drugs, both legal and illicit, which may also contribute to deaths. In 2015, 734 people died of opioid-related causes, or about two a day, states a report by researchers at the Ontario Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES), St. Michael’s Hospital and the Ontario Drug Policy Research Network. Ontario has seen an almost fourfold jump in the rate of opioid-related deaths over the past 25 years, according to new research. The research found that more than 80 per cent of opioid-related deaths in 2015 were accidental. Opioid-related deaths are increasingly occurring among all ages, income brackets, and in both sexes, highlighting the pervasiveness of the problem.

Source: thestar April 20, 2017 06:56 UTC