B.C. doctors welcome Ottawa's move to make it easier to prescribe heroin and methadone

As British Columbia grapples with the opioid overdose crisis, doctors working on the front lines are welcoming a move by Ottawa to ease the restrictions on two types of treatment options: methadone and prescription heroin.

The federal government is easing restrictions around who can prescribe pharmaceutical heroin, or diacetylmorphine, and how. It also plans to remove a requirement for doctors to seek an exemption under the Controlled Drugs and Substances act to be able to prescribe and administer methadone.

“We want a broad