User:Cfarmer4/Opioid epidemic

Canada[edit]
In 1993, an investigation by the chief coroner in British Columbia identified an “inordinately high number” of drug-related deaths, of which there were 330. By 2017, there were 1,473 deaths in British Columbia and 3,996 deaths in Canada as a whole.

Following the United States, Canada was identified in 2015 as the second-highest per-capita user of prescription opioids. In Alberta, emergency department visits as a result of opiate overdose, attributable to both prescription and illicit opioids, specifically fentanyl and fentanyl analogues, rose 1,000% in the past five years. The Canadian Institute for Health Information found that while a third of overdoses were intentional overall, among those ages 15–24 nearly half were intentional. In 2017, there were 3,987 opioid-related deaths in Canada, 92% of these deaths being unintentional. The number of deaths involving fentanyl or fentanyl analogues increased by 17% compared to 2016. Between April and December of 2020, there was an 89% increase in opioid-related deaths in comparison to 2019 . Saskatoon, Saskatchewan experienced a record month in opioid overdoses in May 2020 caused, authorities explained, by a combination of ever-amplifying toxic drugs and the COVID-19 pandemic’s quarantine keeping individuals from family and needed mental health services. Over 28,800 Emergency Medical Services (EMS) responded to possible opioid related health crises between January and December of 2020 after the Covid-19 Pandemic began . In May 2020 Medavie Health Services provided over 250 ambulance services for overdoses, administering the opioid antagonist nasal spray Narcan (naloxone) in record numbers. Removed Sentence

North America's first safe injection site, Insite, opened in the Downtown Eastside (DTES) neighborhood of Vancouver in 2003. Safe injection sites are legally sanctioned, medically supervised facilities in which individuals are able to consume illicit recreational drugs, as part of a harm reduction approach towards drug problems which also includes information about drugs and basic health care, counseling, sterile injection equipment, treatment referrals, and access to medical staff, for instance in the event of an overdose. Health Canada has licensed 16 safe injection sites in the country. In Canada, about half of overdoses resulting in hospitalization were accidental, while a third were deliberate overdoses.

OxyContin was removed from the Canadian drug formulary in 2012 and medical opioid prescription was reduced, but this led to an increase in the illicit supply of stronger and more dangerous opioids such as fentanyl and carfentanil. In 2018, there were around 1 million users at risk from these toxic opioid products. In Vancouver Dr. Jane Buxton of the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control joined the Take-home naloxone program in 2012 to provide at risk individuals medication that quickly reverses the effects of an overdose from opioids.

Peer Review Comments
I received two peer reviews and both did not give me much actionable feedback. In the review done by KHiggins1, they were extremely positive about my current edits with the only issue being noticed was a missing source. I have added that citation and will make sure to double check my citations in the future. The peer review done my Samuel Raaflaub gave suggestions on how I could edit the current article. They commented that the lead could be edited and that more demographics should be discussed. I will take this into account and start looking more at the lead section and researching populations that are affected by the opioid epidemic. I will also note that the peer reviews may have been vague or based on the original article because I have not made a significant amount of edits or additions. I will take this into account and focus on making contributions to the article.