Opioid use, addiction, taking its toll on northeastern Ontario: report

A new study about opioid use in Ontario shows some disturbing trends about how and how often the prescription painkillers are being used and abused in the northeast.

The research, done by the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences at St. Michael's Hospital and the Ontario Drug Policy Research Network, says the area covered by the North East Local Health Integration Network had the highest number of opioid-related hospital admissions and emergency department visits in 2014.

• 20% of Ontario drug-benefit recipients on prescription opioids

Mike O'Shea, the senior mental health and addiction lead with the North East LHIN, told CBC News the reasons for the high rates are complex.

"What we do see are workplace injuries, and an abundance of chronic health issues in our LHIN," he said, adding that opioids are commonly used to treat those types of pain.

"So, with many of these drugs, people are sometimes not compliant, in that they may start out using them for appropriate reasons, but then misuse them, and then find themselves in a predicament where they're addicted to them."

The northeast also saw the second highest rate of deaths by opioids, like Oxycodone andFentanyl, in 2013, which is about double the provincial average.

• Hamilton LHIN has most opioid overdose deaths in province over 5 years

• Curb 'rampant prescribing of opioids and reduce deaths,' Canadian doctors say

O'Shea said many existing treatment programs are overwhelmed with the complexity of individuals they are trying to help.

"When you get these multiple people who are addicted to a variety of medications, and alcohol ... it's very difficult," he said.

"So we have a real need to bolster our addictions services."