Irvine Welsh His first novel, "Trainspotting", was published in 1993. Set in the mid-1980s, it uses a series of loosely connected short stories to tell the story of a group of characters tied together by decaying friendships, heroin addiction and stabs at escape from the oppressive boredom and brutality of their lives in the housing schemes. It was released to shock and outrage in some circles and great acclaim in others; "Time Out" called it "funny, unflinchingly abrasive, authentic and inventive", and "The Sunday Times" called Welsh "the best thing that has happened to British writing for decades". It was adapted as
Chronic addiction substitution treatment research trials. This proved that alternatives could be used for heroin. Despite the success of the research no program was instituted by the time the fentanyl crisis of late 2015 hit the province. Chronic addiction substitution treatment Chronic addiction substitution treatment (CAST) is a policy adopted by Vancouver City Council in 2007 to reduce the harms of drug prohibition by providing substitutes to those with addictions. CAST attempts to reduce homelessness and crime by replacing illegal opiates with pharmaceutical heroin, hydromorphone or other substitutes. Vancouver has a long history of innovation in drug treatment. The first methadone maintenance treatment program