On your first question, Ms. Davies, I think that's why we prefaced our presentation with the notion that this is incredibly complex. The witness talked about so-called big pharma. I think that's important. All you have to do is go to the U.S. and watch TV to see the promotion of pharmaceutical products. We don't have the same level of that advertising in Canada, and I think that's a good thing.
I don't think, in this day and age, that banning any substance really solves that problem. It creates a market for other types of substances, some of which are more harmful, like we're seeing with fentanyl in various places in North America, which is way more powerful than some of the other prescription opioids.
Drug prohibition per se doesn't work. It creates a market for other substances. That's why you need a comprehensive approach. That's why we are arguing that you need to continue this discussion about the complexity of the issues, but in the meantime, let's get to work at the risk reduction or harm reduction level and make naloxone more widely available. In many jurisdictions in the U.S, they are co-prescribing naloxone for people who are clearly at high risk of opioid overdose. We should have it on the provincial formularies. It's not a complex substance. There is no harm that I know of for the misuse of naloxone. It prevents overdose deaths, and it reverses overdose events.
Our national working group of over 25 organizations, which are mostly front-line people working in the trenches, with some academics involved, are helping us with the briefs that will be coming to this committee about making naloxone much more available. In doing so, you educate the public about overdose, the risks of overdose, the risks of using multiple drugs, the importance of having a substance like naloxone available, and the importance of training people to respond to overdose. This would provide a big element of education at the ground level.