A new CMAJ report is highlighting the inadequate efforts to address opioid use among adolescents in Canada, stating that existing services need to be tailored to better meet the needs of young people.

A second CMAJ report co-authored by Dr. Tara Gomes gives insight into recent opioid-prescribing trends, showing that dispensing of opioids has decreased. Dr. Gomes shared with The Globe and Mail that while this is a positive trend, the recent also showed the concerning element of some practitioners outright refusing to prescribe opioids all together.

“Opioids have a place in clinical practice, but it’s really about making sure that when they are accessed, it’s required that people have tried other alternatives, and that they’re prescribed as low dose and short a time period as possible,” Dr. Gomes said.