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Opposition health and community services critic and MHA
for Cartwright - L’Anse Au Clair district, Yvonne Jones, is pleased with
an announcement Monday by government to convene a task force to deal with
abuse of the drug OxyContin.
"The appointment of a task force with
representatives from several agencies is the right move to most effectively
address this problem," said Ms. Jones. "There are many skilled and
experienced people in this province and it is at times like this that they
must be called upon.
"A focus on rehabilitation is important and it is
an area where increased spending by government is essential. The task force
should evaluate what measures can be taken in the short-term and develop a
long-term strategy to prevent abuse of all drugs.
"An important component of this strategy should
include the establishment of a real-time drug monitoring program to prevent
double-doctoring, a problem that is directly related to the availability of
these drugs."
The Liberal MHA says she will continue to ensure that
this problem is addressed by the minister as quickly and effectively as
possible and looks forward to viewing the interim report in January. |