Vancouver has reportedly given prescription heroin to addicted patients and they are the first country in North America to do such a revolutionary treatment program.

The clinic has been identified as the Providence Crosstown Clinic and they have recently received the drug, which will be used in the treatment program. The drug is called diacetylmorphine. It will also be administered to 26 ex-participants of the clinic's medical trial.

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Health Canada has authorized 120 people who are said to be severely addicted and they will be taking part in the said treatment.

The program has undergone a long process for it to be successfully launched at it first went through a clinical trial from Study to Assess Longer-term Opioid Medication Effectiveness (SALOME). Back in October of last year, the federal Health Minister Rona Ambrose has slammed the doctors who urged the approval of the project.

Ambrose pressed that it was against the integrity of Health Canada's Special Access Program (SAP). She said back then in a statement: "This decision is in direct opposition to the government's anti-drug policy and violates the spirit and intent of the special access program." She then ruled that the drug is a restricted substance in the area and so it has been rendered unavailable via SAP.

However, the clinic still took the decision to the court as five of their patients supported them. On November 13, 2013, two legal societies called Providence and Pivot launched a constitutional challenge to reverse the federal government regulations.

The said challenge is said to have been requested as a declaration that the new federal government regulations should be interfered in line with the Charter Rights. The clinic also pressed that the decision was unconstitutional and should be shot down.

Six months after, The Supreme Court of British Columbia has announced their ruling pressing that they are in favor of the legal societies and has let them have access again over the treatment drug.

The patients who will be treated with the said drug are to attend the clinic two to three times for their injection and will be monitored in the clinic. The same studies in Europe have been conducted and the results show that those who have been treated with the drug have improved mentally and physically. Also, increased sociability as well as decrease in criminal and illicit drug activity has been recorded. 

TagsVancouver, heroine addicts, treatment program, drug, diacetylmorphine, Providence Crosstown Clinic, Health Canada