https://www.cmaj.ca/content/196/43/E1414
Benedikt Fischer, Elnaz Moghimi and John Weekes
CMAJ December 16, 2024 196 (43) E1414-E1416; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.241661
KEY POINTS
- Correctional populations are characterized by disproportionately elevated levels of chronic diseases, including substance use and mental health disorders.
- In contexts of the present drug overdose death crisis driven by synthetic toxic opioids, increasing numbers of drug overdose deaths have been observed among incarcerated people in Canada.
- Rates of drug overdose deaths among corrections-exposed populations are estimated to be higher than those observed in general populations.
- Intervention uptake, additional implementation, and expansion of measures to prevent harms related to substance use in Canada’s prisons are needed.