Drug Addiction in Canada

Detox and Rehab Centers for Drug and Alcohol Addiction in Canada

The current state of drug addiction in Canada has not changed much in the last ten years. We could speak of various statistics, how it was tabulated, the different clients surveyed and tested, etc. But the fact remains that no matter how many surveys the government does, there are still people across Canada who are being introduced to their first joint, first line of cocaine or the first binge drinking. The good thing about Health Canada is that it permits various addiction treatment approaches to be conducted. In Canada, people choose to either go to a government-funded or a private addiction treatment facility.

Substance abuse treatment is not state-regulated by the federal government; however, each province has guidelines. Some provincial governments decided that all residential drug rehab centers, private or not, must be accredited and pass their sixty-plus rulings. Over the last year, dozens of treatment centers were closed down. Leaving only those that would agree and follow the Provincial health minister’s guidelines.

But despite all the drug rehab centers in the country and the thousands of professionals that work to help people overcome their addiction, illicit drug use and trafficking still exist from coast to coast. The most recent drug alert has been a story on Health Canada’s approval of using Heroin to treat opiate addiction. It would seem incredible, but it is true nonetheless, that a recent application to administer heroin to test subjects who are not responding to methadone treatment and other approaches are being given medical doses of heroin. It is rationalized that this stops the person from buying illegal street drugs, cuts down on crime, and does not let the person suffer. So it is considered a “harm reduction method.”

Most privately run drug addiction treatment centers are successfully getting people off drugs and alcohol daily. The difference is that the government isn’t ready to cover private drug rehab centers’ costs and would rather have the drug addict return three and four times to the clinic, which the taxpayers pay.