Posted: Jan 17, 2021 6:00 AM AT | Last Updated: January 17
Albert McNutt is the director of the Northern Healthy Connections Society.(Elizabeth Chiu/CBC)
When people think of addiction and drug use in Canada, their minds might turn to cities like Vancouver, Toronto, or even Halifax.
But small towns in Nova Scotia have their own struggles when it comes to addressing addiction and overdoses.
In 2020, 96 people in Nova Scotia died due to drug toxicity 10 more than in 2019 according to monthly reports from the Nova Scotia Health Authority that have not been made available to the public.
While the central health zone, which covers Halifax and the surrounding areas, had the highest rates of opioid mortality since December 2019 3.9 per 100,000 people the other health zones weren t far behind.
Posted: Jan 11, 2021 6:00 AM AT | Last Updated: January 11
A man waits to have a sample of drugs tested by Vancouver Coast Health workers at the Overdose Prevention society in Vancouver.(Briar Stewart/CBC News)
Advocates are raising concerns about three recent warnings related to illicit street drugs made to look like prescription medications in Nova Scotia.
On Friday, Nova Scotia Health warned that a white substance labelled as Xanax from Windsor had tested positive for flualprazolam, a benzodiazepine similar to Xanax, but much stronger. The substance tested was a white, triangular tablet with three lines on each side. It had the logo XANAX on one side and 2 on the other, the health authority said in a tweet.