Polysubstance use poisoning deaths in Canada: an analysis of trends from 2014 to 2017 using mortality data.

Background: Over the past decade, rates of drug poisoning deaths have increased dramatically in Canada. Current evidence suggests that the non-medical use of synthetic opioids, stimulants and patterns of polysubstance use are major factors contributing to this increase.

Methods: Counts of substance poisoning deaths involving alcohol, opioids, other central nervous system (CNS) depressants, cocaine, and CNS stimulants excluding cocaine, were acquired from the Canadian Vital Statistics Death Database (CVSD) for the years 2014 to 2017.

Towards cross-Canada monitoring of the unregulated street drug supply.

Background: The well-being of people who use drugs (PWUD) continues to be threatened by substances of unknown type or quantity in the unregulated street drug supply. Current efforts to monitor the drug supply are limited in population reach and comparability. This restricts capacity to identify and develop measures that safeguard the health of PWUD.

Attributable fractions for substance use in relation to crime.

Aims: Building upon an existing methodology and conceptual framework for estimating the association between the use of substances and crime, we calculated attributable fractions that estimate the proportion of crimes explained by alcohol and six other categories of psychoactive substances.

Design: Cross-sectional surveys.

Setting: Canadian federal correctional institutions.