Drug and alcohol review
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Drug and alcohol review · Jan 2014
Correlations between prescription opioid analgesic dispensing levels and related mortality and morbidity in Ontario, Canada, 2005-2011.
Prescription opioid analgesic (POA)-related harms constitute a major public health problem in North America. Ontario features above-average POA use levels in Canada and has seen consistent increases in related mortality and morbidity. Recent studies documented strong correlations between POA dispensing levels and related harm outcomes on population levels. We examined correlations between POA dispensing and key POA-related mortality and morbidity indicators in Ontario, 2005-2011. ⋯ POA dispensing levels were found to be strongly correlated with mortality and morbidity (treatment) indicators. Targeted and sensible reductions of POA use level would likely constitute a primary measure to reduce POA-related harms on a population level, especially in a jurisdiction with high POA consumption levels.
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Drug and alcohol review · Jan 2014
Case ReportsFrom oxycodone to heroin: two cases of transitioning opioid use in young Australians.
The non-medical use of pharmaceutical opioids is associated with a range of negative health consequences, including the development of dependence, emergency room presentations and overdose deaths. ⋯ These cases represent the first documented reports of transitions from the non-medical or recreational use of oxycodone to intravenous heroin use in Australia. As such, they represent an important starting point for the examination of pharmaceutical opioids as a pathway to injecting drug use among young Australians and highlight the need for further research designed to identify pharmaceutical opioids users at risk of transitions to injecting and to develop interventions designed to prevent or delay these transitions.