Ontario’s top doctor is calling on the province to immediately enact a policy restricting access to alcohol, vaping and cannabis, as the number of people who have died or visited hospital due to polysubstance use soars. has shot in recent years.
But Dr. Kieran Moore, the province’s chief medical officer of health, also recommends that Ontario decriminalize the simple possession of unregulated drugs for personal use and make a safer supply accessible to reduce the number of people in the province who die each year. due to preventable opioid overdose.
“When we see preventable threats, such as substance use, harming too many people too young, devastating families, destroying communities and reducing life expectancy, we must act,” the doctor wrote in an annual report published this week.
“In recent years, some of the biggest threats to what had been a steady increase in life expectancy in Ontario have been the COVID-19 pandemic and preventable deaths related to substance use.”
Moore’s research suggests that his “multiple” recommendations can help officials prevent fatal overdoses and prevent people, especially young people, from increasingly dangerously using multiple legal substances.
Hannah Jensen, a spokesperson for Ontario’s health minister, said in an email Thursday that the government appreciates Moore’s “specific point of view” outlined in the report, but said the recommendations to restrict legal substances and decriminalize drugs tough are inconsistent.
Jensen said they “ignore the unintended consequences and significant public safety concerns experienced by other jurisdictions that have implemented similar proposals.”
He said Oregon, for example, is considering repealing decriminalization measures passed in 2021 after experiencing “failed audits and increased public safety issues.” Lawmakers in that state introduced a bill earlier this year that would effectively repeal the decriminalization measures once passed.
Moore said more than 2,500 people have died in Ontario each year in recent years due to the supply of toxic drugs. And the number of opioid-related deaths among adolescents and young adults in Ontario tripled between 2014 and 2021.
He said research has found that a safer drug supply is the solution to immediately preventing thousands more people from dying in the coming years.
“The system must first take urgent steps to keep people alive, such as creating safe spaces where people can use unregulated drugs and providing regulated pharmaceutical alternatives,” he wrote in the report.
“With these harm reduction responses in place, people who use opioids may be in a position to benefit from education and treatment offerings, and make decisions that allow them to reduce or even stop their opioid use.”
It also recommended that Ontario decriminalize the simple possession of hard drugs for personal use.
“Decriminalization… allows the justice and law enforcement systems to focus their resources on apprehending organizations and individuals who profit from unregulated drug sales rather than people who use substances whose needs would be met.” better in the health system,” he wrote in the report. .
He noted that Ontarians, especially young people, have also been part of a “disturbing trend” in recent years of excessive drinking and vaping.
The report, which cites data recently released by the Canadian Institute for Health Information, found that 33 per cent of adults said they used cannabis in 2020, an increase of eight per cent from 2019. And when it released its survey On cannabis in 2022, Health Canada reported the number of Ontarians who died from alcohol poisoning increased by 16 per cent between 2018 and 2021.
“We have also seen concerning changes in patterns of substance use and harm more broadly, including higher rates of vaping among non-smokers, an increase in unintentional poisonings in children from cannabis ingestion, and continued high burden of hospitalizations and cancers caused by alcohol,” Moore said. she said in the report.
He said that’s why efforts must be made to “change social norms by making Ontarians more aware of new evidence about alcohol-related harms.”
He suggested in the report, for example, that more restrictions on how legal substances are marketed could be implemented to educate people about the harms of substance use.
“The province prohibits alcohol advertising aimed at minors in traditional media such as television, radio or the press, but neither the federal nor the provincial government limits advertising on social media platforms, which is where young people they get most of their information,” Moore said.
It also recommended Ontario “explore the value of raising the minimum legal drinking age from 19 to 21” and “work with the federal government to require all alcohol products to have warning labels and signs outlining the risks and harms of drinking.” alcohol”.
He said it’s common knowledge that Ontarians will continue to use legal substances.
“The challenge is to help people understand the risks and moderate or discontinue their use,” he said.
He said limiting the number of deaths and hospital visits due to legal substances could save the province billions of dollars.
“In 2020, harms associated with substance use cost Ontario about $18 billion, or $1,234 per person, in health care, social, and legal/police costs,” the report reads.
Moore argued that his recommendations should be implemented with the understanding that social burdens, such as the affordability crisis, are driving more Canadians to use substances.
That’s why he said Ontario needs to implement its recommendations while working with all levels of government to develop affordable housing policies, programs for families that reduce the risk of adverse childhood experiences and domestic violence, and initiatives to improve social circumstances. .
“This report calls for a whole-of-society approach to improving health and reducing the harms of substance use: one that recognizes the complexity of the human experience with substances, the factors that drive substance use, and the political environment where public health policies may conflict with economic policies and with public attitudes and perspectives,” he wrote.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 29, 2024.
This is a corrected story. An earlier version quoted a Health Ministry spokesperson as saying the government appreciated Moore’s recommendations. In fact, the province’s position is that it appreciates Moore’s specific point of view.