Health-care system is struggling to manage cases of young Canadians hospitalized for drug-related causes, report says

By Erin Anderssen, The Globe and Mail, September 19, 2019
With comments by Nicholas Chadi

The vast majority of Canadian youth being hospitalized for drug-related injuries or overdoses also have a mental-health condition, according to new numbers that show the most common substance behind those hospital stays is cannabis, not alcohol. […]

Pediatric specialist Nicholas Chadi opened his substance-abuse clinic at Montreal’s Sainte-Justine University Hospital in August, and already has a crowded roster. This includes a 13-year-old hospitalized for an opioid overdose, but also three young people with chronic vomiting brought on by long-term marijuana use. Given the strength of new marijuana on the market, and the fact that many teens use it in edibles and oil concentrates, he said many such cases are likely happening across the country. Read more