The ‘invisible’ opioid crisis in small towns

The dangerous effects of the opioid crisis could be distilled in a single afternoon in February: the town of Belleville, Ont., saw 14 overdose cases in just two hours. The scale of the opioid crisis is often associated with big cities; however, the reality in smaller cities is even worse. Despite smaller cities having higher rates of opioid deaths and hospitalizations, they get less attention.

The Globe and Mail’s reporter and feature writer, Shannon Proudfoot explains the situation in some small towns in the country and how they are trying to deal with it despite having far fewer resources.