Opioids
Burying the Truth One Person at a Time
by Reggie J. E. Caverson

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Millions of people across North America have been impacted by the ongoing opioid crisis, but why has it taken so long for us to make a serious dent in this crisis? And why is it still plaguing us today? Here, author Reggie Caverson, an addictions expert with over thirty years in the field, tries to answer these unwieldy questions, tracing the crisis back to its roots and offering solutions that could possibly mitigate some of the unimaginable harm caused since. In Opioids: Burying the Truth One Person at a Time, she outlines . . . • A chronology of the crisis since OxyContin was first marketed as a “miracle drug” in 1996 and the egregious mistakes that have been made by health regulators since that time • How police, as the initial whistleblower, witnessed a surge in opioid-related crimes which persist to this day • The impact on people with acute or chronic pain who continue to be prescribed highly potent and addictive opioids • The many other interwoven issues including the lack of data, the disproportionate impact on Indigenous peoples, on families, on those who have been incarcerated, on emergency responders, such as police, paramedics, and hospitals, and many others • The spill over into a new wave of addiction-related harm and crimes caused by manmade opioids such as fentanyl and other drugs found on the street To give hope, Caverson offers the need for an integrated four-pillar strategy aimed at addressing this crisis, focused on health promotion and prevention, addiction treatment, harm reduction, and enforcement. Powerful, compassionate, and incredibly thorough, Opioids: Burying the Truth One Person at a Time is a call for all hands on deck and the need to work together to face this crisis head-on.

www.opioidcrisis.ca

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With thirty years in the addictions field, Reggie Caverson (M.Ed.) was at ground zero when OxyContin was first marketed as a “miracle drug” in 1996. Beginning as a health promotion consultant with the Addiction Research Foundation (ARF), she later worked in various senior program and policy roles with ARF and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). Caverson worked closely with law enforcement for years before the crisis was even recognized by health officials and the wider public. Although she desperately tried to expose it for what it was, she was constantly dismissed by doctors and health organizations citing her lack of medical credentials. This, despite the fact that she led the development of a Drug Strategy for Ontario, was the provincial lead on national projects to address drugs with the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse and co-led the development of the Municipal Drug Strategy Coordinators Network of Ontario. This culminated in her unceremonious dismissal from her job, despite her expertise, knowledge and the numerous accolades she had received. To this day, Caverson believes she may have been silenced for shining a light on what others refused to acknowledge. Though she has since moved into a completely different career, she continues to be deeply affected by the lack of attention to this crisis, the number of people who continue to die (intentionally or unintentionally) and the effort to whitewash the truth of how we got to where are today with the ongoing opioid crisis—and not all of it is from drugs on the street. Caverson lives in northern Ontario, where she has lived most of her life. She is the proud mother to two adult children. Interested in getting in touch? You can find her on LinkedIn.

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Reggie J. E. Caverson