Non-medical prescription opioid use, prescription opioid-related harms and public health in Canada: an update 5 years later.

Five years ago, we highlighted Canada's emerging problem of prescription opioid (PO)-related harms and emphasized the need for targeted surveillance, research and interventions. Overall levels of PO use in the Canadian population have grown by 70% since then, while at the same time levels of non-medical PO use (NMPOU) in general and in key risk populations have continued to be high; furthermore, PO-related harms - specifically morbidity (e.g.

Comparing key characteristics of young adult crack users in and out-of-treatment in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Background: Crack use is prevalent among street drug users in Brazilian cities, yet despite recent help system reforms and investments, treatment utilization is low. Other studies have identified a variety of - often inconsistent - factors associated with treatment status among crack or other drug users. This study compared socio-economic, drug use, health and service use characteristics between samples of young adult crack users in- and out-of-treatment in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.