Canada: Bishops express alarm over substance abuse crisis

Source: CCCB

Canada's Catholic bishops this week have issued a statement expressing their alarm over the increase in drug addiction across the country - both from illegal drugs and the abuse of prescribed medication.

They say: 'It has become increasingly clear in recent years that Canada is facing a serious substance abuse crisis. Although this problem has existed in various forms for some time, the recent deaths of so many Canadians due to overdoses – particularly through the use of new potent opioids like fentanyl and carfentanyl – is alarming. In British Columbia, for example, 914 deaths resulted from street drug overdoses in 2016, almost twice as many as in the previous year. The majority of these deaths are connected to fentanyl use. Opioid overdose deaths are also on the rise across the country, posing a serious problem for health authorities.

'The Catholic Bishops of Canada are deeply troubled by the devastating effects of these drugs, in particular their ability to extinguish human life in an instant. Even when they do not kill directly, their addictive power creates what Pope Francis recently referred to as "a new form of slavery." Persons suffering from addiction often have a distorted perception of reality and of what should be desired; the addiction itself is neither representative of whom they really are nor is it an authentic expression of their will.'

Read the full statement here: www.cccb.ca/site/images/stories/pdf/Statement_on_drugs_-_EN.pdf