Recent Articles:
Below are past articles previously published in Drugs & Addiction Magazine. These are filled with current and relevant information and statistics and can be used as great conversation starters with youth.
It’s Bell Let’s Talk Day!
January 30, 2019Former Insys CEO pleads guilty to opioid kickback scheme
January 17, 2019Resolve to Detox Your Social Circle
January 16, 2019Easing test anxiety boosts low-income students’ biology grades
January 15, 2019Craving insight into addiction
January 14, 2019People with low self-esteem tend to seek support in ways that backfire, study finds
January 10, 2019Ban on cigarette sales in NYC pharmacies starts Jan. 1
January 9, 2019Too many problems? Maybe coping isn’t the answer
January 8, 2019Half of all mental illness begins by the age of 14
January 3, 2019Sexting Teens
December 19, 2018Screen Addiction: Today’s Biggest Threat to Schooling?
December 19, 2018Texting Etiquette & Safety: 5 Rules for Keeping Your Kids & Teens Secure & Drama-Free
December 17, 2018Amnesty International: Indigenous Peoples’ rights
December 17, 2018New Canadians sworn in as Winnipeg museum celebrates International Human Rights Day
December 13, 2018Statement by the Prime Minister on Human Rights Day
December 12, 2018Fentanyl is the deadliest drug in America, CDC confirms
December 12, 2018The Illustrated Version of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
December 11, 2018Homeless man with terminal cancer donates to holiday toy drive
December 10, 2018Boy gets Colorado town to overturn snowball fight ban
December 6, 2018Fortnite addiction is forcing kids into video game rehab
December 5, 2018Clarity on Cannabis
December 4, 2018Mental health education recommended for RCMP members following inquest
November 30, 2018Social Media – 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence
November 28, 2018Strategy to Prevent and Address Gender-Based Violence
November 27, 2018#GIVINGTUESDAY TODAY ONLY YOUR GIFT CAN BE MATCHED
November 27, 2018The 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence
November 26, 2018#ENDViolence in schools
November 23, 2018Statement by Minister MacLeod on National Child Day
November 22, 2018November 20th marks National Children’s Day across Canada
November 21, 2018National Child Day
November 20, 2018Facts & Figures
November 16, 2018The Push For Change®
November 15, 2018Winter Giving 101
November 14, 2018First came the stroke, then the inspiration…
November 13, 2018Canadian Youth Speakers Bureau: Scott Hammell
November 9, 2018John Connors’ brilliant IFTA Award speech
November 9, 2018Crisis Text Line powered by Kids Help Phone
November 8, 2018This teen pizzeria employee traveled 3 hours to deliver pizza to a man with terminal cancer
November 6, 2018Video captures joyful law student’s reaction to passing her bar exam
November 5, 2018MADD Canada launches annual red ribbon campaign in Halifax
November 2, 2018Nova Scotia’s Health Department says talks underway for province’s first overdose prevention site
October 31, 2018Crystal meth eclipsing opioids on the Prairies: ‘There’s no lack of meth on the street’
October 29, 2018Opioids Don’t Discriminate: An Interactive Experience.
October 26, 2018Guelph police warn drug users of spike in purple fentanyl
October 25, 2018What exactly are you inhaling when you vape?
October 23, 2018Study ADHD Medication Overdoses
June 14, 2018A Cry for Guidance
January 18, 2018Your Friend’s Substance Abuse
September 15, 2017Depression
September 15, 2017Methamphetamines
September 15, 2017Alcohol
September 15, 201725 Healthy Ways to Feel Better
September 15, 2017Nova Scotia’s Health Department says talks underway for province’s first overdose prevention site
October 31, 2018By Alexa MacLean Digital Broadcast Journalist Global News
At just 28 years of age, Matthew Bonn is living proof that access to treatment for addiction saves lives.
“I would be dead. There’s no question in my mind that I would be dead,” he said.
Bonn says he started suffering from active addiction at a very young age and tried to overcome it for years before he was able to access treatment.
“I think I was born with the disease of addiction and I started using drugs at the age of 12 and very quickly progressed into pharmaceuticals and other narcotics,” he said.
According to Health Canada statistics, nearly 4,000 Canadians died from opioid-related overdose deaths last year.
The numbers for the first three months of the year indicate opioid-related overdose deaths have already surpassed 1,000 people.
“Any of us can be affected by a crisis that does result in deaths. I went to my first funeral related to an opioid overdose this year,” said Lisa Roberts, MLA for Halifax-Needham.
The Nova Scotia Public Health Department has confirmed that there are ongoing discussions underway about bringing the first overdose prevention site (OPS) to the province.
An OPS is a temporary facility set up to address an immediate need in a community.
“NSHA Public Health will support these organizations as they explore the potential for OPS to meet the needs of their service population, in accordance with the approval process set out by federal and provincial regulations. This includes, but is not limited to, demonstrating evidence of support from the local community and law enforcement,” Lesley Mulcahy, senior communications adviser with Public Health, wrote in an email.
In September, a community meeting was hosted at the Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Centre to discuss the possibility of bringing an OPS to Gottingen Street.
The initiative would fit into the new Direction 180, a community-based opioid treatment centre located Roberts’ district.
She attended that meeting and says that while there was support for the movement, there was also some hesitation from the community.
Roberts feels the reality of addiction speaks volumes about how beneficial an OPS would be for Halifax.
“Nobody wants to be finding needles on sidewalks and in playgrounds or seeing evidence of drug-taking in the community,” she said.
“I think that is actually the reason why it makes sense to have an overdose prevention site — a place where people can go and safely and privately administer drugs at the same location where they can also seek treatment to maybe no longer be taking dangerous drugs from what we know is a contaminated drug supply,” Roberts added.
An average of 60 people die from opioid-related overdose deaths every year in the province.
The results of a countrywide overdose crisis have led to increased investments in addiction and treatment from the Nova Scotia government.
Waiting lists for opioid treatment used to be in the hundreds; now people are able to access treatment plans in a timely manner.
However, people like Bonn believe adding an OPS to the harm reduction picture would go even further to preventing senseless deaths in the wake of the overdose crisis.
“We really need one because I continue seeing it getting worse and worse,” he said.