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A recent court injunction against a law to restrict public drug use in British Columbia denies police a much-anticipated enforcement tool, says a top law enforcement official.

Health Canada has called the opioid crisis one of the most serious public health threats in recent history, and an addictions specialist says everyone can play a part in helping reduce the death toll. All it takes is access to naloxone, a life-saving medication that temporarily reverses an opioid overdose.

A former federal health minister who championed decriminalization in Canada says a three-year model approved for British Columbia may not provide ample evidence to ensure the success of a policy that should have been implemented across the country.

Uruguay, Portugal, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador and the state of Oregon all have introduced some form of decriminalization in an effort to curb overdose deaths.

A doctor and a psychologist say Health Canada’s move to allow physicians to request restricted psychedelic drugs for patients as part of their psychotherapy is a positive step toward transforming mental-health care.

Ed Thompson remembers the helplessness he felt each of the thousands of times his twin daughters would turn blue and go lifeless in his arms.