Men have been steadily dropping out of the workforce, especially men ages 25 to 54, who are considered to be in their prime working years. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate for prime-age working men was 3.4% in August 2024. This number primarily includes those who are unemployed and looking … Read more
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre on Friday referred to supervised consumption sites as “drug dens” and vowed to shut down some of these sites if elected prime minister — a proposal British Columbia’s premier called “a real mistake.” Poilievre also said a Conservative government would pull federal funding for such operations. “We will close safe injection … Read more
(NewsNation) — Actor Clark Gregg, who portrayed Arthur Sackler in the Netflix series “Painkiller,” criticized bankruptcy laws that allow wealthy individuals to avoid responsibility for their actions following the Supreme Court’s reversal of a $6 billion opioid settlement. “It seems odd to me … that someone if they have enough money, can do things like … Read more
Last September, as Oregon faced an ever-increasing rate of fatal drug overdoses, a new study concluded the state’s first-in-the-U.S. decriminalization policy was not to blame. The study found that based on similar overdose rates in other states before and after the first year of decriminalization, overdose deaths in Oregon would have risen at essentially the … Read more
The federal government is granting B.C.‘s request to once again ban the public use of illicit drugs, Mental Health and Addictions Minister Ya’ara Saks said on Parliament Hill on Tuesday. “This is a health crisis, not a criminal one. That being said, communities need to be safe,” Saks said. “People need to have confidence that … Read more
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says his treatment-centric approach to tackle the opioid crisis would face significant challenges if he was prime minister. “Oh, it will definitely be a challenge,” Poilievre said in an interview with Global News’ Focus B.C. host Richard Zussman in Ottawa on Thursday when asked about staffing additional treatment facilities and finding … Read more
Federal Mental Health and Addictions Minister Ya’ara Saks says the government remains “wholeheartedly committed” to working with British Columbia as the premier wants to scale back the province’s drug decriminalization exemption. The goal is to allow police to intervene in public illicit drug use following reports of drug use in places like hospitals and Tim … Read more
More than one in four deaths among young Canadians between 2019 and 2021 were opioid-related, with the COVID-19 pandemic and the increased use of fentanyl potentially playing significant roles, according to new research. A study published Monday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) found that during the same years, premature deaths related to opioids … Read more
Eight years to the day after British Columbia declared a public health emergency, Premier David Eby said the toxic drug crisis has had a “catastrophic impact” on families and communities. “Every life taken by this crisis is a loss to our community — they are friends, parents, siblings and children. To the families, friends and … Read more
Peer-reviewed research is emerging about the possible impact of British Columbia’s safer supply program, which provides prescription alternatives to toxic illicit drugs. Two studies in international medical journals cast the strategy in a different light. One found the program was associated with a reduced risk of death from overdose and other causes among opioid-using participants, … Read more
