Overview
- An editorial in CMAJ warns health systems are failing adolescents as nonmedical prescription‑opioid use among Ontario students jumped from 12.7% in 2021 to 21.8% in 2023, with higher reported use in grades 7–9.
- Provincial data show worsening outcomes for youth, including increased emergency department visits and a sharp rise in opioid‑related deaths among people aged 15–24.
- Clinicians report growing recreational use of hydromorphone among teens, often referred to as “dillies,” reflecting perceptions that prescription opioids are safer than street drugs.
- Authors urge easier access to opioid agonist therapy for adolescents, noting many primary care providers remain reluctant or unaware they can prescribe methadone or buprenorphine since federal restrictions were lifted in 2018.
- A companion CMAJ study across six provinces found opioid dispensing fell between 2018 and 2022—new starts down 8% and overall users down 11%—while cautioning that poorly executed cutbacks can push people toward a dangerous unregulated supply.