Calgary woman suing Alberta government over prescribed opioid use restrictions
Calgary woman suing Alberta government over prescribed opioid use restrictions
Ophelia Cara (also Ophelia Black) is shown in Calgary, Thursday, March 17, 2022. The woman is suing the Alberta government for newly imposed regulations that would prevent her from taking hydromorphone, a potent opioid that she takes uses times a day to treat a severe opioid use disorder. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh)
A Calgary woman is suing the Alberta government over regulations that would prevent her from obtaining hydromorphone, a potent opioid she takes three times a day to treat her severe opioid use disorder.
Ophelia Black, 21, was diagnosed with the disorder after she developed an opioid dependency as a teen, says thestatement of claim filed in Court of King's Bench on Wednesday.
The document says the treatment regime Black currently follows allows her to effectively manage her condition and prevents her from using street-sourced opioids. But the province's new standards require service providers to refrain from prescribing opioids for at-home use unless approved by a medical director.
"The regulations are impractical and restrictive for Black, and will result in her no longer accessing the only form of treatment that is effective for her severe opioid use disorder," says the claim.
"Black will disengage from treatment and return to street-sourced opioid consumption, increasing her likelihood of overdose death or experiencing other serious health harms related to street-sourced opioid use."
Black is suing the province under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to put a halt to the new restrictions and to provide her with an exemption so she can continue to access the treatment as she did previously.
Her claims have not been tested in court and no statement of defence has been filed.
The province said it is reviewing the statement of claim and couldn't provide further comment on the case as it is before the courts.
Black said in a previous interview with The Canadian Press that she tried everything she could to stay sober but continued to relapse, often resulting in an overdose.
The Community Protection and Opioid Stewardship Standards, established in October, makes it so Black would have to travel to the Opioid Dependency Clinic in Calgary to have hydromorphone administered to her.
The lawsuit says Black currently has a prescription for the drug, which she takes three times a day intravenously at home. As Black doesn't drive, she would have to travel about six hours per day on public transit to get to the clinic.
The standards include a five-month transition period for health professionals currently prescribing high-potency opioids for addiction.
The statement of claim says Black began using opioids to cope with childhood trauma and that she was regularly sexually, physically, and mentally abused by older men preying on her vulnerable condition. As a result, she began suffering from suicidal ideation, depression and a range of other mental health issues, says the document.
"Opioids provided Black relief from the struggles she endured, but her use resulted in developing a significant dependency," says the claim.
"Black relied on street-sourced opioids to manage her condition, which resulted in her experiencing numerous overdoses and a variety of other adverse health effects."
The province says the risk of these potent opioids getting into the community is too high for them to be administered any other way.
"The service is only for the most severe cases of opioid addiction and is an extremely specialized service," Colin Aitchison, press secretary to the minister of mental health and addictions, said in a written statement Friday.
"The medications that may be provided as part of this program can be extremely dangerous, especially if they are diverted into the community."
The province has been working with Alberta Health Services to extend the timeline of the transition or grant exemptions in unique cases, he said.
"We will continue to address these unique situations on a case-by-case basis with AHS."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 3, 2023.
Ottawa Police are investigating an attempted break-in at the residence of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's national security adviser, the second such incident involving one of his top aides in recent months.
When two skiers collided on a beginner run at an upscale Utah ski resort in 2016, no one could foresee that seven years later, the crash would become the subject of a closely watched celebrity trial.
A Toronto man, whose neighbours vanished eight years ago and left their home completely abandoned, said he's fed up living next door to a property that is in complete disarray.
A candidate for the United Conservative Party in southern Alberta has resigned after she posted a video claiming children are being exposed to pornography in schools.
A scientist at CAMH says video games have similar addictive features to gambling which cause social isolation of the individual and dependency on the activity.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau offered a brief initial response to the final report from the Mass Casualty Commission (MCC) into Canada's worst mass shooting, which claimed the lives of 22 people in Nova Scotia in 2020. Vowing changes will come, here's what Trudeau said in Truro, N.S.
The federal Liberals are trending downward on three key measures while Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has surpassed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau when it comes to the question of who Canadians would prefer now as their prime minister, according to Nanos Research.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has yet to answer direct questions about a growing scandal of her alleged interference with the justice system, but her deputy premier has responded the media about the issue.
The Alberta government has revealed plans for some of the $211 million it will spend over the next three years expanding and improving parks, campgrounds and recreation trails.
Police have released video of a suspected arsonist who allegedly caused thousands of dollars in smoke and water damage to a building in Vancouver's Chinatown last weekend.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau offered a brief initial response to the final report from the Mass Casualty Commission (MCC) into Canada's worst mass shooting, which claimed the lives of 22 people in Nova Scotia in 2020. Vowing changes will come, here's what Trudeau said in Truro, N.S.
Gun policy comments made by then-RCMP commissioner Brenda Lucki in a contentious call to Nova Scotia RCMP officers after the mass shooting in 2020 did not amount to political interference, the Mass Casualty Commission (MCC) final report concludes.
A 32-year-old man from Campbell River, B.C., has been sentenced to four years in prison for the beating death of a 59-year-old homeless man in October 2020.
The Transportation Safety Board (TSB) says designated landing zones should be available for aircraft in harbours following a crash between a floatplane and a water taxi in Tofino in 2021.
A Toronto man, whose neighbours vanished eight years ago and left their home completely abandoned, said he's fed up living next door to a property that is in complete disarray.
Premier Doug Ford is slamming federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault as a “real piece of work” in the wake of public remarks he made suggesting that Ontario has “no plan to fight climate change.”
Just a week after Airbnb tightened regulations for Quebec listings following a deadly fire, hosts may already be bending the rules. Airbnb now requires its hosts to provide a six-digit policy number with their listing, obtained when a tourist lodging is registered with the provincial government. But a scroll through the Airbnb website suggests users are falsifying their permit numbers to sneak past the authentication process.
A lawyer for the United States government told Quebec's highest court today that the country should be immune from prosecution for the infamous brainwashing experiments at McGill University from the 1940s to the 1960s.
It's been two weeks since a major fire ripped through a heritage building in the heart of Old Montreal, killing seven people and forever altering the lives of families across the globe. For the families of those who died, the grieving process is only starting.
Ottawa Police are investigating an attempted break-in at the residence of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's national security adviser, the second such incident involving one of his top aides in recent months.
Students at the University of Saskatchewan College of Medicine are reluctant to speak up when faculty make racist comments, according to a new report from the human rights commission.
A Mass Casualty Commission report that came out on Thursday following a mass shooting in Nova Scotia in 2020 may have a local impact on the RCMP Depot model being phased out.
There are exciting plans for Knox Presbyterian Church in downtown Sudbury. Built in 1927, the former church was sold after its congregation dwindled and will be transformed into a concert hall.
Two Manitoba hunting outfitters have been fined thousands of dollars and lost their licenses after a four-year investigation revealed numerous violations of the wildlife act.
A judge has acquitted a now-retired priest of forcing himself on a residential school student more than 50 years ago, saying she believes an assault happened but could not determine beyond a reasonable doubt who did it.
A Mass Casualty Commission report that came out on Thursday following a mass shooting in Nova Scotia in 2020 may have a local impact on the RCMP Depot model being phased out.
Riley Jolly detailed several injuries he observed on his son, Emerson Whitby, prior to the 18-month-old’s death, during testimony at Court of King’s Bench in Regina on Thursday.
Ophelia Cara (also Ophelia Black) is shown in Calgary, Thursday, March 17, 2022. The woman is suing the Alberta government for newly imposed regulations that would prevent her from taking hydromorphone, a potent opioid that she takes uses times a day to treat a severe opioid use disorder. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh)
