Solution to Canada’s opioid crisis may lie in its origins, health minister says
OTTAWA — It remains a mystery why Canada and the U.S. are the world’s heaviest opioid users, but Health Minister Jane Philpott says divining the answer may hold the key to solving what she considers a national public health crisis.
Philpott, a physician herself, said the problem has only grown worse over the last several years as the number of overdoses and opioid-related deaths has continued to grow.
A number of theories persist, Philpott said in an interview with The Canadian Press, including relentless pharmaceutical industry pressure on North American health-care providers to use opioids extensively in treating chronic pain.
“Some have suggested that may be one of the reasons behind it —like anything else, it is multisectorial,” Philpott said.