News First ever paid prescription fentanyl program launches in Vancouver

S.J.B.

S.J.B.

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First ever paid prescription fentanyl program launches in Vancouver
Karin Larsen
CBC
8 Apr 2022

A first-of-its-kind program is making powdered fentanyl available by paid prescription in Vancouver.

Dr. Christy Sutherland, medical director for PHS Community Services, the organization running the program, said the goal is to meet substance users where they are at, instead of administering alternatives like Dilaudid that patients may not find helpful.

"The common feedback we had from patients was that they would prefer fentanyl, that we needed to match what they were buying from the drug dealer in order to get them away from that street supply. So we worked as a team to create a new fentanyl option for our patients and community," she said, speaking on CBC's On The Coast.

The opioid crisis continues to take a devastating toll in British Columbia, with an average of six people dying of illicit drug poisoning every day.

Fentanyl is now the street drug of choice, but increasingly it's being cut with all manner of toxic substances, including benzodiazepines and carfentanil, a much more potent analogue of fentanyl.
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Funny that fentanyl has been so prevalent in Vancouver that many now prefer it to heroin/hydromorphone!
 
I’ll be interested to see how this affects overdose rates (and all cause mortality) among the cohort receiving this treatment

Safe supply is definitely the future imo…
 
Wow, I gather prescription dilaudid or heroin is not enough for a heavily addicted fentanyl user. That still boggles my mind.
 
Good quality H or dilaudid,which i never tried could cover fent withdrawls.....just like methadone.Idk why is this program?It's cheap fent....just like methadone-that is all i know
 
JackARoe said:
Wow, I gather prescription dilaudid or heroin is not enough for a heavily addicted fentanyl user. That still boggles my mind.
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Yeah, as an opioid addict (who admittedly has never had fent) I don't get why anyone would prefer it. Those I've spoken to who've had it disliked it and preferred heroin or prescription opioids by far. Canada does weird shit, this seems like a move in the wrong direction, yet from such a 'logical' point of view.
 
Cream Gravy? said:
Yeah, as an opioid addict (who admittedly has never had fent) I don't get why anyone would prefer it. Those I've spoken to who've had it disliked it and preferred heroin or prescription opioids by far. Canada does weird shit, this seems like a move in the wrong direction, yet from such a 'logical' point of view.
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I get this feeling.. Could be totally wrong, but I feel maybe fentanyl usage over a certain amount of time fucks with your brain and your bodies ability to enjoy heroin or other opiates.


I say this because I've noticed a lot of comments like yours. People that dabble or try it, go back to heroin(if they can).. But it seems places where people get on the fent for months/years struggle to enjoy heroin the same way.

I've seen fent once. I freaked out.. Felt like a naive 15yo again. Old heroin addict I know pulls out a fent 'patch' someone gave him. He starts peeling random crap from the inside and loading it in his bong but he's shaking and dropping shit. My assshole puckered so hard. It was like watching a drunk play with a live bomb. As someone that had zero opiate tolerance at that time, I really didn't wanna get hit by it in some freak accident(he was sitting very close to me lol).
 
I'm tapering with hydromorph but not from a clinic. I ran into someone i knew from the clinic a few days ago and he was dopesick and on his way to get fent, i offered a few hydromorph and he said no. He preferred fent. Blew my mind because to me iv hydromorph is as close to heroin as you can get.

Here in Ontario everyone wants fent now and that's all that is around.
 
Jennn said:
Here in Ontario everyone wants fent now and that's all that is around.
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There has to be something to it other than flat out nasty addiction. I know it is a stronger opioid than than heroin and morphine but that term "knock out powder" makes me wonder what the allure is. It has been said fentanyl lacks the warmth and euphoria of other opiates but I do notice online people preferring it. So that may not be entirely true.

I am all about keeping tolerance low. But fentanyl does not seem like the right move for that. @moonyham I have also heard heavy fentanyl users don't really feel other opiates anymore. All I know if I were an active "dope" user I would like it to be heroin again.

I also know it will affect all continents too. Unless a country has a prescription heroin program I think this will enter all dope, at least for a little while. i do not know how you go back to heroin when your tolerance is rocketed.
 

I had often wondered just how long it is before a fentanyl-dependant individual begins to suffer abstinence syndrome. I saw one trial in which people were given the drug four times a day but I suspect that they have discovered that some users need MORE.

I'm also keen to hear from fentanyl users. Is it true that other opioids (in ANY amount short of an OD) do not stop withdrawal?
 
Not sure exactly where this fits, but I don't think it's CE&P necessarily, will shuffle over to DP&MC for now since it contains a news article.
 
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