Sudbury researcher says we need to change how we talk about addiction

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Editor’s note: In September of 2023, the Porcupine Health Unit held first place in the province for the highest opioid toxicity mortality rate, but fell to fourth place a year later. The city’s emergency supervised injection site closed in August of 2024, after the Ministry of Health declined its application to become a permanent site.  

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People who are addicted to drugs should be treated like anyone else with a chronic health condition, a Sudbury doctor and researcher says.

“The fundamental message is we need to change how we view substance use,” Dr. Kristen Morin told a group gathered at Science North for MedTalk 2025. “It is not a moral failing that people should be punished for,” Morin said.

Even just reading the words “use” not “abuse” is a paradigm shift, she said.

Morin’s presentation, “Respecting lives, enhancing care: addressing the opioid crisis with compassion,” was one of a number made at MedTalk 2025 last week.

Opioid addiction is a major health crisis in the Sudbury area, which has one of the highest addiction and overdose death rates in Ontario. Over the last five years, 696 people in the region have died from opioid overdoses due to the toxic drug supply.

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From January to March of this year, Public Health Sudbury and Districts reports that 35 people died from a suspected drug poisoning in the Sudbury and Manitoulin districts. During the same period last year, 24 people died from a suspected drug poisoning in the Sudbury and Manitoulin districts.

This represents an annualized local mortality rate of 61.1 deaths per 100,000 population per year, compared to 56.0 deaths per 100,000 population per year in northern Ontario overall. Rates in both areas are significantly higher than the projected Ontario rate of 15.9 deaths per 100,000 population per year.

MedTalks are about cutting-edge research done by leading healthcare professionals looking for community-driven solutions. MedTalk 2025 was focused on fueling impact through innovative STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education.

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Most of the presenters had a connection to Health Sciences North or the Health Sciences North Research Institute.

“These talks remind us of the incredible work happening in hospitals, clinics and labs and advocacy organizations all across northern Ontario,” said Science North’s CEO, Ashley Larose, in the opening moments of the event.

Collaboration is a key to success in all the sciences; think Watson and Crick, or Banting and Best. In this case, researchers were paired with students in Laurentian’s Science Communication program.

The 10-minute presentations – like mini TED talks – were not only fascinating in themselves, but perfected in their delivery by those who are immersed in the best practices in getting messages to listeners in ways that are accessible and sometimes funny, despite their seriousness.

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Dr. Morin, who also participated in the 2024 event, works in addictions.

Science North’s Sarah Chisnell, meanwhile, talked about the importance of partnerships and that showcasing research is valuable.

“We want to get people engaged,” Chisnell said. “There are 300 seats tonight. It is an amazing turnout. The audience is diverse.

“Science communicator program students have spent a year learning best practices and now they are sharing that know-how.”

Michelle Reid, master lecturer for the Science Communication Graduate Program, agreed. “This is such a valuable experiential learning project for my students,” Reid said. “They get to work with real professionals with lived experiences … they are going from theory to practice.”

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Another researcher, Sandra Dorman from the Centre for Research in Occupational Safety and Health at Laurentian University, displayed arresting visuals of the fires in Fort McMurray. She demonstrated how a community with a strong awareness of the importance of training helped evacuees behave in the same ways they would in the workplace.

Reducing anxiety about scans, X-rays, and ionizing radiation, Dr. Chris Thome’s comparisons offered the audience facts. He addressed fears by understandable examples and highlighted the incredible value in seeing inside without incisions.

Other presentations included “Rural and remote nursing in northern Ontario”; “Building children’s brains through words and talk; and “Patient power, how we all are Olympians.”

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Then there was proctology and current practices in colon cancer detection and anal examinations; being your health advocate and Public Health Sudbury and Districts’ role and portfolio in increasing life span and life quality.

Not to overwhelm the audience, five presentations preceded an intermission and five followed. Rather than a rapid exit, there was a buzz in the Science North Cavern as the audience mingled to discuss what they had learned.

The Local Journalism Initiative is made possible through funding from the federal government.

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