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Yvonne Jones, Opposition Health and Community Services Critic and MHA for
the District of Cartwright - L’Anse au Clair, says government’s failure
today to act on recommendations of the OxyContin Task Force is unacceptable,
and is putting the people of the province at risk. The Task Force
indicated that OxyContin has become a drug of choice on the streets of the
province, having become readily available in recent years. Its use has been
linked to the rise in crime around Newfoundland and Labrador, specifically
in Grand Falls-Windsor and St. John’s, and to at least six deaths since
1997. "Almost every day when we turn on the evening news, we see the effects
that OxyContin is having on our province," said Jones. "Today’s announcement
does not go far enough in dealing with this serious issue.
"While the Task Force recommended resources be earmarked specifically for
the training of police officers and the allocating of officers specifically
to deal with drug prevention, enforcement and investigation, this has not
happened. In fact, the drug unit in St. John’s has been cut just when it is
most needed. Not only have the recommendations not been acted on, but the
situation has actually regressed."
The report also recommended that Cabinet authorize
the Department of Health and Community
Services to share information with police so that individuals with criminal
records may be more easily identified. "Government’s inaction has put
the onus on the pharmacists to take matters into their own hands and refuse
to fill prescriptions and, as a consequence, has put them into a dangerous
position."
Of the report’s recommendations, several are able to be implemented by
government immediately. "Swift government action would have greatly helped
the people of the province, including dispensers, legitimate users, ordinary
citizens, law enforcement officials, and so on. Instead, for almost an
entire year, this action has been conspicuously absent." |