Position Statement on Access to Opioid Agonist Treatment in Detention
Revised November 2019
College of Family Physicians of Canada
Addictions Medicine and Prison Health Member Interest Groups
The Opioid Overdose Crisis
More than 11,000 Canadians have died from an accidental opioid overdose since 2016.1 Opioid use disorder and non-medical opioid use are associated with other detrimental health outcomes including non-fatal overdose, neonatal abstinence syndrome, social disruption, and injection drug use and its associated harms.2–4 The complex nature of the opioid overdose crisis requires a multi-faceted, cross-sectoral response. Part of this response must include interventions in the Canadian correctional system.