Government of Canada releases four videos featuring personal accounts of those affected by prescription drug abuse
May 28, 2015 - Calgary, Alberta - Health Canada
The Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of Health, today unveiled four promotional videos featuring personal stories from Canadians directly affected by prescription drug abuse. As part of the federal approach to combatting prescription drug abuse, these powerful videos aim to increase awareness of the effects of prescription drug abuse on the lives of youth and their families. Each video reflects the real life story of Canadians and the impact of prescription drug abuse on their family, and through a series of powerful images and testimonials, they tell the story of addiction; its consequences, treatment, and recovery.
Minister Ambrose and Health Canada would like to thank the families who have shared their story, as well as the Canadian Addiction Treatment Centres and the Ontario Addiction Treatment Centres for their collaboration on these videos.
The Minister revealed the videos following a meeting with the Calgary Police Service, where she discussed opportunities for intervention, prevention and education relating to prescription drug abuse amongst youth.
Prescription drug abuse is a significant public health and safety concern in North America. Drugs like opioids, sedative-hypnotics and stimulants are legal and have proven therapeutic benefits when prescribed by an appropriate medical professional, but they also have a high potential for harms such as addiction, withdrawal, injury, and death.
This video campaign is one of several ways the Government is supporting initiatives to combat prescription drug abuse. The Government of Canada invests approximately $130 million a year to address addictions and drug abuse in Canada under the National Anti-Drug Strategy. These funds contribute to developing tangible and effective solutions to the problems of drug addiction. In 2014, the government committed over $44 million over five years to expand the focus of the National Anti-Drug Strategy from illicit drugs to include measures to address prescription drug abuse.
Over the past several months, the Government of Canada has taken a number of steps to address prescription drug abuse, including:
- launching a national marketing campaign to equip parents with the information and tools needed to talk with their teenagers about the harmful effects of prescription drug abuse;
- providing $13.5 million over five years to enhance prevention and treatment services for prescription drug abuse in First Nations communities;
- launching the Canadian Research Initiative in Substance Misuse (CRISM), a national research network aimed at improving the health of Canadians living with substance misuse;
- announcing nearly $8 million to support projects to improve prescriber education and to support the development of a national approach to the monitoring and surveillance of prescription drugs; and,
- announcing nearly $13 million over five years to increase the number of annual pharmacy inspections carried out by Health Canada.
Caption: The Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of Health, launched four testimonial videos featuring stories from Canadians personally affected by prescription drug abuse. Minister Ambrose also met with the Calgary Police Service and discussed opportunities for intervention, prevention and education relating to prescription drug abuse among youth.
Caption: The Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of Health, listens as Deputy Chief Trevor Daroux, Calgary Police Service speaks about the importance of education, intervention and prevention regarding prescription drug abuse among youth.
Michael Bolkenius
Office of the Honourable Rona Ambrose
Federal Minister of Health
(613) 957-0200
Health Canada
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