IN DEPTH: Are Canadian Teens Getting Hooked on ‘Safer Supply’ Drugs?

Addictions experts and authorities agree that some of the government-provided “safer supply” opioids are being diverted—that is, sold or given away to others rather than taken by the drug addicts to whom they are prescribed “as a safer alternative to the toxic illegal drug supply.” There’s disagreement, however, on how much is being diverted and whether it has become a gateway drug for youth to fall into opioid addiction. This contentious point is a wedge in Canada’s political and social divide on the “safer supply” approach to the overdose crisis. The Epoch Times took a look at much of the available data, along with other evidence for and against a teen “dilly” problem. Dilly is the street name of Dilaudid, a brand name for the safer supply opioid hydromorphone. Other drugs in the opioid class include fentanyl, morphine, oxycodone, heroin, and codeine....