Toxic drug poisoning continues to be a leading cause of death in BC. Fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid, is present in most opioids purchased on the unregulated market and has made the drug supply far more unpredictable and dangerous. At the same time, medications such as methadone, buprenorphine-naloxone, and slow-release oral morphine, which are given to help prevent withdrawal symptoms and reduce cravings, remain the most effective medical treatment for people with opioid use disorder. This is referred to as opioid agonist treatment (OAT). People who are engaged with OAT are known to have better health and social outcomes.
However, many people stop OAT early. It may be that as fentanyl in the drug supply has become stronger, people have developed high tolerances, making it harder for current OAT medications to meet their needs. This might lead someone to resort to supplementing with other drugs, exposing themself to potentially harmful, toxic ones. My research will examine whether the changing strength of fentanyl in the unregulated drug supply affects how long people stay on OAT. Findings could help improve how OAT doses are set and support the use of drug supply monitoring in clinical and policy decisions.