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Health Canada approves injectable hydromorphone to treat opioid addiction (Dr. Scott MacDonald, Crosstown)

A patient at the Crosstown Clinic in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside prepares one of his three daily doses of prescribed hydromorphone in January, 2017. (Rafferty Baker/CBC)
A patient at the Crosstown Clinic in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside prepares one of his three daily doses of prescribed hydromorphone in January, 2017. (Rafferty Baker/CBC)

Health Canada has approved injectable hydromorphone — a drug commonly used to manage pain — to treat patients with severe opioid use disorder.

According to the department, the change makes Canada the first in the world to approve the drug for such use, all in an effort to get the tragic overdose crisis under control.

In Vancouver, Dr. Scott MacDonald has been running the Crosstown Clinic for about 14 years, where patients have been prescribed heroin and injectable hydromorphone beyond the regulated use approved by Health Canada.

Read the full story on CBC News.

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