1: Introduction

The opioid crisis in Canada is a multifaceted societal problem with historical roots in early drug policy, systemic racism, and public debates surrounding morality as a nation. Corporate greed by pharmaceutical companies alongside political anti-drug campaigns in the 1980s and 1990s further contributed to the current crisis as overprescription followed by over-policing of prescription opioids coincided with the continuation of the criminalization of opioids and the flourishing of the illicit synthetic opioid market. This chapter offers a brief overview of Canadians’ public views on the opioid crisis, the history of opioids’ manufacturing, policy changes in Canada, and the opioid crisis’ impact on certain demographics.