Prescription Painkiller Strategy

With a quarter of its tiny population hooked on prescription painkillers, Marten Falls First Nation has decided to embark on a costly but proven method to get addicts free and clear.
Starting October 3rd, about 60 affected residents of the Northern First Nation will take part in a 3-phase program to substitute their addiction to Oxycodone and other addictive pills with controlled doses of Suboxone.
A team of health professionals will taper the drug over 30 days until clients can be taken off completely or continue on short-term, low-dose maintenance.
Drug and alcohol counsellor Liza Moonias says painkiller abuse on the reserve, 500-kilometres north of Thunder Bay, started to become a serious problem about 5-years ago.
She says 20% of the reserve’s adult population has since become addicted.