Jake Hayward

2 months ago | cmaj.ca | Jake Hayward |Rhonda J. Rosychuk |Andrew McRae |Aynharan Sinnarajah

Opioid prescriptions are a factor in some overdose-related deaths,1–4 and this awareness has driven substantial reductions in prescribing.5–7 Despite these reductions, mortality has increased, with more than 500 000 opioid-related deaths in North America since 2016.8–10 In Alberta, Canada, the proportion of people who filled an opioid prescription dropped 35% between 2016 and 2021, but opioid-related deaths tripled, from 554 to 1510 per year, largely because of potent opioids in the illegal...