Therefore, those drugs need to be scheduled very quickly to be able to add them to the monitoring. So a quicker scheduling process should also apply for drugs that may be abused, and it requires urgent review and scheduling in situations where new trends of abuse emerge, for example, over-the-counter health products.
In conclusion, I wish to reiterate that the consequences of prescription drug abuse are important for the health of Canadians and can also create other problems such as drug shortages. When a drug is overused or used inappropriately, it can reduce the supply of the drug to a point that the drug is suddenly not available for legitimate use. We know there is a lot to do in this area and we will contribute to the work of the National Advisory Council on Prescription Drug Misuse.
We believe that primary action needs to start with redesigning the legislative framework.
Thank you again, Mr. Chair, and committee members, for the opportunity for our association to appear before you today.