Are you interested in learning about semaglutide for weight loss?
If so, look no further than this comprehensive guide on one of the most popular anti-obesity peptide therapeutics.
As worldwide obesity rates have grown in recent years, clinical understanding of the disease has evolved to address its complex pathophysiology. Novel antiobesity pharmacotherapies have emerged as safe, effective, and long-lasting solutions. Of these, semaglutide demonstrates particular promise.
Citing current peer-reviewed publications and recent studies, this review will disclose all you need to know to add semaglutide to your peptide research. We will explore its demonstrated efficacy as a weight loss agent, mechanisms of action, and safe handling practices.
Lastly, we will close with our top recommendation for purchasing high-quality semaglutide online, ensuring the best research outcomes.
Semaglutide (brand names: Ozempic, Wegovy, Rybelsus) is a synthetic glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analog made up of 31 amino acids. It is currently the only glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1 RA) drug that has been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in both subcutaneous and oral formulations [1, 2].
Initially approved as an antidiabetic medication due to its marked hypoglycemic action, semaglutide subsequently gained clinical interest as an appetite regulator and weight loss agent. Extensive trials have demonstrated its promise as a weight loss intervention, leading to its latest approval for weight management in non-diabetic patients with obesity or comorbidly overweight individuals. Ongoing research points to further pleiotropic effects, such as lower cardiovascular risk in susceptible populations [1, 2].
GLP-1 is a naturally occurring incretin hormone. It is secreted in the gastrointestinal tract in response to nutrient intake and is vital to healthy metabolic function. As a GLP-1RA agonist, semaglutide acts upon the GLP-1 receptors to regulate glycemic control and appetite. Semaglutide shares 94% homology with native GLP-1 and functions similarly. However, it has been slightly altered for greater stability and a longer duration of action, increasing its curative potential [3, 4, 5].
When used as directed by a doctor, semaglutide is considered safe. It is also accessible to qualified researchers for educational use.
How Semaglutide Works for Weight Loss
The dramatic weight loss benefits of semaglutide have been well-documented through extensive clinical trial programs in both diabetic and non-diabetic patients. This section will briefly discuss these findings.
Mechanism of Action
GLP-1 acts upon receptors within the GI tract and central nervous system to regulate blood glucose, gastric motility, and appetite. GLP-1-RA’s like semaglutide activate the GLP-1 receptors to stimulate pancreatic insulin release while suppressing glucagon output. These medications function in a glucose-dependent fashion, reducing blood sugar for better glycemic control [3, 4].
Hypothalamic stimulation improves appetite control and feeding habits for lowered caloric intake. Through these mechanisms, semaglutide and other GLP-1RAs have been proven to affect substantial and sustained weight reduction in obese and overweight patients with various etiologies [4, 5].
Semaglutide and other drugs of its class also display broad anti-inflammatory and cardioprotective properties. While semaglutide performs the same activities as natural GLP-1, it has a unique albumin-binding structure that allows for enhanced stability and a longer half-life. As a result, it is suitable for once-weekly administration via subcutaneous injection [3, 4, 5].
Effects on Appetite and Satiety
Semaglutide induces weight reduction through multiple distinct pathways. Appetite suppression is identified as the leading cause. This is attributed to its stimulation of the hypothalamic GLP-1 receptor, which alters eating patterns and reduces cravings. It also slows gastric motility, which
improves satiety and nutritional absorption. Lastly, its insulinogenic effects increase glycemic control to further promote homeostatic feeding and appetite management. As a consequence, food intake decreases, resulting in weight loss with improved body composition [6, 7, 8].
Role in Promoting Weight Loss
Comprehensive clinical trials show semaglutide’s effectiveness as a lasting weight loss strategy beyond the field of diabetes intervention. It presently has regulatory clearance for chronic weight control in combination with exercise and dietary changes in obese and overweight individuals with weight-related illnesses such as dyslipidemia and hypertension. It was recently approved by the FDA as an antiobesity and antidiabetic medicine in pediatric patients aged 12 and up [6, 7].
While other GLP-1-RA medications, such as liraglutide, have been shown to aid in weight reduction, semaglutide is usually regarded as the most successful and enduring in its class. This is due to its increased hypothalamic activity and longer half-life, which synergistically combine to suppress hunger for longer periods. Trials involving diabetics and nondiabetics have demonstrated considerable weight loss with once-weekly semaglutide injections over extended durations of study [5, 6, 7, 9].
Semaglutide Dosage and Administration for Weight Loss
The recommended dose and administration of semaglutide are subject to change based on the research purpose or therapeutic application. This section examines the general information regarding semaglutide dosage for weight loss. Handlers are advised to check the product literature for specific instructions.
Recommended Dosage for Weight Loss
Subcutaneous semaglutide is indicated for weight management. The administration should adhere to these Wegovy guidelines [10]:
Initial dose: 250mcg delivered once weekly via subcutaneous injection for four weeks.
Dose increase: Increase the weekly dose to 500mcg/weekly for weeks 5-8, 1mg/weekly for weeks 9-12, 1.7mg/weekly for weeks 13-16, and 2.4mg/weekly for weeks 17 and onward.
Missed doses: If a dose is missed, it can be administered within 5 days.
Notes: Injections may be given in the abdomen, upper arm, and thigh. Alternate sites of injection to prevent irritation. If the weekly dose of 1.7mg is not well tolerated, discontinue usage.
Injectable Semaglutide vs. Oral Tablets
Oral semaglutide is presently only approved by the FDA as a T2D therapy under the trade name Rybelsus. Studies indicate that oral semaglutide maintains the fundamental therapeutic effects of the subcutaneous form in type 2 diabetes patients, notably glycemic control and weight management. Although there is evidence that it may be similarly beneficial as an anti-obesity medication in non-diabetics, more research is needed [7, 11].
Due to the higher volatility of semaglutide in digestive fluids, much larger doses of its oral form are required daily for therapeutic effects. Trials examining its weight reduction potential in nondiabetics have typically adhered to the authorized anti-diabetic dose regimen of 3mg, 7mg, and 14mg, gradually increasing for tolerability. Oral semaglutide is associated with a greater degree of gastrointestinal discomfort overall [7, 11].
Semaglutide For Weight Loss | Benefits
Semaglutide’s weight loss advantages have been thoroughly demonstrated in various populations, leading to its regulatory approval as a weight management medication in conjunction with diet and exercise.
Multiple randomized controlled trials have documented the efficacy of both subcutaneous and oral formulations in encouraging ongoing weight loss among obese and overweight individuals with a variety of underlying etiologies other than type 2 diabetes [7].
The particular mechanisms behind semaglutide’s antiobesity effect are uncertain. Nonetheless, thorough evaluations of regulatory trials give valuable insight into the therapeutic effects of semaglutide in the context of weight control [7, 12].
Reduced Appetite and Food Cravings
Semaglutide’s weight reduction results are driven by central and peripheral appetite suppression. The central pathway includes activity on the hypothalamic GLP-1 receptor, which influences calorie expenditure in conjunction with neural appetite and reward regions. GLP-1 agonists have been found to lower the hedonic effect of food among obese and overweight people, enhancing homeostatic eating and shifting nutritional choices toward healthier options [7, 8].
The peripheral pathway of appetite suppression involves increased insulin production in the pancreas. This improves glycemic control and further suppresses appetite via feedback along the gut-brain axis [7, 8, 13].
While these functions have been identified in all drugs classed as GLP-1RAs, semaglutide is demonstrated to have the most significant impact on the hypothalamus, resulting in more drastic decreases in appetite and caloric intake in relation to comparable compounds. Furthermore, its longer half-life confers more substantial hypoglycemic and insulinogenic effects, resulting in more persistent control of food and cravings [9].
Increased Satiety and Fullness
Semaglutide has also been proven to lower appetite and calorie intake by stimulating the GLP-1 receptors that populate the gastrointestinal tract, another feature of its peripheral anorexigenic mechanism. This slows gastric emptying for increased sensations of satiety and fullness. Delayed gastric motility impacts nutritional absorption and postprandial blood sugar levels, also increasing gastrointestinal distension to reduce appetite between meals [8, 9, 14].
Lower Body Weight and BMI
Studies on semaglutide use in both T2D patients and nondiabetics have resulted in substantial weight loss due to decreased caloric consumption. In the PIONEER clinical trials, orally administered semaglutide led to significant weight loss among diabetics in a dose-dependent fashion within 26 weeks. Both waist circumference and body mass index (BMI) were lowered.
Comparable findings were seen in the STEP program assessing injectable semaglutide as a weight management tool for diabetic and non-diabetic patients [6, 7].
Semaglutide’s efficacy as a weight loss drug is attributed to its ability to suppress appetite through hypothalamic activation, which promotes sensations of fullness. The ensuing control of calorie consumption leads to weight reduction. Meanwhile, its regulation of blood sugar levels and metabolism is tied to reductions in cardiac and visceral fatty tissue storage, resulting in healthier body composition [6, 7].
In clinical evaluations, semaglutide consistently outperforms other licensed anti-obesity and weight-loss drugs in terms of effectiveness and safety. Under the brand name Wegovy, it is authorized for weight loss in nondiabetic people who are obese or overweight with cardiometabolic comorbidities [6, 7].
Other Potential Benefits
Clinical data indicates that semaglutide can reduce cardiovascular risk in persons with T2D and other cardiovascular illnesses. In studies on its cardiovascular effects in high-risk patients, it was discovered that semaglutide lowered the frequency of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), such as ischemic attacks and strokes.
Its cardioprotective benefits are mediated by global anti-inflammatory properties as well as its lowering of cardiac and visceral adiposity. Semaglutide, marketed as Ozempic, is officially approved for decreasing cardiovascular risk in T2D patients with cardiovascular comorbidities [5, 15, 16].
Because of the peptide’s effects on the inflammatory response, body composition, and lipid metabolism, it has been utilized to manage nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) in T2D patients [17, 18].
Owing to its cardioprotective and hypoglycemic characteristics, semaglutide has shown prospective renal benefits in T2D patients [19].
Additional study in animal models indicates that semaglutide offers neuroprotective benefits for the potential management of Parkinson’s disease, attributable to its anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective outcomes [20].
Expanding analysis will surely add to this impressive list of advantages. Researchers are encouraged to keep informed on recent developments.
Semaglutide Side Effects and Safety
Semaglutide has undergone thorough safety testing as an FDA-approved drug, offering a wealth of information about potential side effects and cautions.
Common Side Effects
The majority of adverse reactions are minor and transient, typically dissipating within the first few weeks when patients adjust to the regimen. These include the GI issues listed below [16, 21]:
Constipation
Nausea
Vomiting
Abdominal pain
Indigestion
Diarrhea
The gastrointestinal side effects are dependent on dosage and timing. While the reasons behind these effects are not entirely understood, clinicians ascribe them to the peptide’s effects on gastric motility and intestinal absorption. Oral formulations are more likely to cause acute gastrointestinal problems, and subcutaneous delivery may cause injection site pain [21].
Serious Side Effects
Although uncommon, severe adverse effects have been observed. If any of these symptoms occur, discontinue treatment and seek medical attention [16, 21]:
Hypoglycemia
Because of its impact on blood glucose levels, semaglutide, like other GLP-1-RAs, can lead to hypoglycemia. This is an uncommon outcome associated with the concomitant use of multiple diabetic drugs.
Pancreatic cancer and pancreatitis
Although further research is needed, GLP-1-RAs have been linked to pancreatic inflammation and cancer. Due to an increased risk of pancreatic cancer, semaglutide is not recommended for pancreatitis patients.
Thyroid cancer
In animal studies, GLP-1-RAs were associated with thyroid C-cell hyperplasia and malignancy. Semaglutide use is therefore inadvisable among high-risk subjects.
Diabetic retinopathy
In rare cases, retinal bleeding and vision loss have occurred in association with insulin co-administration.
Gallbladder disease
The risk of gallbladder disease, such as cholelithiasis, might rise. Fever and jaundice are typical symptoms.
Kidney injury
Renal impairment with dehydration has occurred, resulting in significant GI symptoms.
Hypersensitivity reactions
Though uncommon, acute allergic responses are known to elicit urticaria, anaphylaxis, rash, and angioedema.
Safety Considerations
Because it slows gastric motility, semaglutide may impede the digestion of oral drugs. Handlers are urged to speak with a physician regarding potential drug interactions and proper administration [16].
While semaglutide is generally considered safe, individuals with a high risk or history of biliary disease, renal failure, diabetic retinopathy, pancreatitis, or thyroid cancer should exercise caution. Furthermore, because of the elevated risk of developing hyperglycemia, the administration of semaglutide in conjunction with other diabetic medications must be done under medical supervision [16].
Precautions and Warnings
Certain populations should not take semaglutide. Although there is minimal information on the usage of semaglutide in pregnant women, concerns have been raised over the risk of fetal damage. In animal studies, semaglutide use in early gestation has been linked to severe fetal abnormalities and embryo-fetal death. However, the benefits of diabetes management during pregnancy may outweigh the risks [16].
Semaglutide is not authorized at present for usage in children below 12 years of age, and there is insufficient data to support its use among high-risk elderly populations [1, 6]. This is not an exhaustive review of current semaglutide safety data. Handlers must comply with indicated usage guidelines under the direction of a medical professional.
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Semaglutide and Weight Loss | Overall
This concludes our thorough examination of the weight loss benefits of semaglutide peptide therapy. Semaglutide is renowned for its potency and safety as a diabetic medicine and weight management intervention, making it one of the most promising recent advances in weight loss pharmacotherapy.
It routinely outperforms other medications in its class in the expanding field of anti-obesity treatment. This sought-after peptide is hailed by specialists as a milestone in anti-obesity medication, with innovative formulations and extensive clinical trials underway.
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TORONTO – Health Canada has authorized Moderna’s updated COVID-19 vaccine that protects against currently circulating variants of the virus.
The mRNA vaccine, called Spikevax, has been reformulated to target the KP.2 subvariant of Omicron.
It will replace the previous version of the vaccine that was released a year ago, which targeted the XBB.1.5 subvariant of Omicron.
Health Canada recently asked provinces and territories to get rid of their older COVID-19 vaccines to ensure the most current vaccine will be used during this fall’s respiratory virus season.
Health Canada is also reviewing two other updated COVID-19 vaccines but has not yet authorized them.
They are Pfizer’s Comirnaty, which is also an mRNA vaccine, as well as Novavax’s protein-based vaccine.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
TORONTO – Sanniah Jabeen holds a sonogram of the unborn baby she lost after contracting listeria last December. Beneath, it says “love at first sight.”
Jabeen says she believes she and her baby were poisoned by a listeria outbreak linked to some plant-based milks and wants answers. An investigation continues into the recall declared July 8 of several Silk and Great Value plant-based beverages.
“I don’t even have the words. I’m still processing that,” Jabeen says of her loss. She was 18 weeks pregnant when she went into preterm labour.
The first infection linked to the recall was traced back to August 2023. One year later on Aug. 12, 2024, the Public Health Agency of Canada said three people had died and 20 were infected.
The number of cases is likely much higher, says Lawrence Goodridge, Canada Research Chair in foodborne pathogen dynamics at the University of Guelph: “For every person known, generally speaking, there’s typically 20 to 25 or maybe 30 people that are unknown.”
The case count has remained unchanged over the last month, but the Public Health Agency of Canada says it won’t declare the outbreak over until early October because of listeria’s 70-day incubation period and the reporting delays that accompany it.
Danone Canada’s head of communications said in an email Wednesday that the company is still investigating the “root cause” of the outbreak, which has been linked to a production line at a Pickering, Ont., packaging facility.
Pregnant people, adults over 60, and those with weakened immune systems are most at risk of becoming sick with severe listeriosis. If the infection spreads to an unborn baby, Health Canada says it can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, premature birth or life-threatening illness in a newborn.
The Canadian Press spoke to 10 people, from the parents of a toddler to an 89-year-old senior, who say they became sick with listeria after drinking from cartons of plant-based milk stamped with the recalled product code. Here’s a look at some of their experiences.
Sanniah Jabeen, 32, Toronto
Jabeen says she regularly drank Silk oat and almond milk in smoothies while pregnant, and began vomiting seven times a day and shivering at night in December 2023. She had “the worst headache of (her) life” when she went to the emergency room on Dec. 15.
“I just wasn’t functioning like a normal human being,” Jabeen says.
Told she was dehydrated, Jabeen was given fluids and a blood test and sent home. Four days later, she returned to hospital.
“They told me that since you’re 18 weeks, there’s nothing you can do to save your baby,” says Jabeen, who moved to Toronto from Pakistan five years ago.
Jabeen later learned she had listeriosis and an autopsy revealed her baby was infected, too.
“It broke my heart to read that report because I was just imagining my baby drinking poisoned amniotic fluid inside of me. The womb is a place where your baby is supposed to be the safest,” Jabeen said.
Jabeen’s case is likely not included in PHAC’s count. Jabeen says she was called by Health Canada and asked what dairy and fresh produce she ate – foods more commonly associated with listeria – but not asked about plant-based beverages.
She’s pregnant again, and is due in several months. At first, she was scared to eat, not knowing what caused the infection during her last pregnancy.
“Ever since I learned about the almond, oat milk situation, I’ve been feeling a bit better knowing that it wasn’t something that I did. It was something else that caused it. It wasn’t my fault,” Jabeen said.
She’s since joined a proposed class action lawsuit launched by LPC Avocates against the manufacturers and sellers of Silk and Great Value plant-based beverages. The lawsuit has not yet been certified by a judge.
Natalie Grant and her seven year-old daughter, Bowmanville, Ont.
Natalie Grant says she was in a hospital waiting room when she saw a television news report about the recall. She wondered if the dark chocolate almond milk her daughter drank daily was contaminated.
She had brought the girl to hospital because she was vomiting every half hour, constantly on the toilet with diarrhea, and had severe pain in her abdomen.
“I’m definitely thinking that this is a pretty solid chance that she’s got listeria at this point because I knew she had all the symptoms,” Grant says of seeing the news report.
Once her daughter could hold fluids, they went home and Grant cross-checked the recalled product code – 7825 – with the one on her carton. They matched.
“I called the emerg and I said I’m pretty confident she’s been exposed,” Grant said. She was told to return to the hospital if her daughter’s symptoms worsened. An hour and a half later, her fever spiked, the vomiting returned, her face flushed and her energy plummeted.
Grant says they were sent to a hospital in Ajax, Ont. and stayed two weeks while her daughter received antibiotics four times a day until she was discharged July 23.
“Knowing that my little one was just so affected and how it affected us as a family alone, there’s a bitterness left behind,” Grant said. She’s also joined the proposed class action.
Thelma Feldman, 89, Toronto
Thelma Feldman says she regularly taught yoga to friends in her condo building before getting sickened by listeria on July 2. Now, she has a walker and her body aches. She has headaches and digestive problems.
“I’m kind of depressed,” she says.
“It’s caused me a lot of physical and emotional pain.”
Much of the early days of her illness are a blur. She knows she boarded an ambulance with profuse diarrhea on July 2 and spent five days at North York General Hospital. Afterwards, she remembers Health Canada officials entering her apartment and removing Silk almond milk from her fridge, and volunteers from a community organization giving her sponge baths.
“At my age, 89, I’m not a kid anymore and healing takes longer,” Feldman says.
“I don’t even feel like being with people. I just sit at home.”
Jasmine Jiles and three-year-old Max, Kahnawake Mohawk Territory, Que.
Jasmine Jiles says her three-year-old son Max came down with flu-like symptoms and cradled his ears in what she interpreted as a sign of pain, like the one pounding in her own head, around early July.
When Jiles heard about the recall soon after, she called Danone Canada, the plant-based milk manufacturer, to find out if their Silk coconut milk was in the contaminated batch. It was, she says.
“My son is very small, he’s very young, so I asked what we do in terms of overall monitoring and she said someone from the company would get in touch within 24 to 48 hours,” Jiles says from a First Nations reserve near Montreal.
“I never got a call back. I never got an email”
At home, her son’s fever broke after three days, but gas pains stuck with him, she says. It took a couple weeks for him to get back to normal.
“In hindsight, I should have taken him (to the hospital) but we just tried to see if we could nurse him at home because wait times are pretty extreme,” Jiles says, “and I don’t have child care at the moment.”
Joseph Desmond, 50, Sydney, N.S.
Joseph Desmond says he suffered a seizure and fell off his sofa on July 9. He went to the emergency room, where they ran an electroencephalogram (EEG) test, and then returned home. Within hours, he had a second seizure and went back to hospital.
His third seizure happened the next morning while walking to the nurse’s station.
In severe cases of listeriosis, bacteria can spread to the central nervous system and cause seizures, according to Health Canada.
“The last two months have really been a nightmare,” says Desmond, who has joined the proposed lawsuit.
When he returned home from the hospital, his daughter took a carton of Silk dark chocolate almond milk out of the fridge and asked if he had heard about the recall. By that point, Desmond says he was on his second two-litre carton after finishing the first in June.
“It was pretty scary. Terrifying. I honestly thought I was going to die.”
Cheryl McCombe, 63, Haliburton, Ont.
The morning after suffering a second episode of vomiting, feverish sweats and diarrhea in the middle of the night in early July, Cheryl McCombe scrolled through the news on her phone and came across the recall.
A few years earlier, McCombe says she started drinking plant-based milks because it seemed like a healthier choice to splash in her morning coffee. On June 30, she bought two cartons of Silk cashew almond milk.
“It was on the (recall) list. I thought, ‘Oh my God, I got listeria,’” McCombe says. She called her doctor’s office and visited an urgent care clinic hoping to get tested and confirm her suspicion, but she says, “I was basically shut down at the door.”
Public Health Ontario does not recommend listeria testing for infected individuals with mild symptoms unless they are at risk of developing severe illness, such as people who are immunocompromised, elderly, pregnant or newborn.
“No wonder they couldn’t connect the dots,” she adds, referencing that it took close to a year for public health officials to find the source of the outbreak.
“I am a woman in my 60s and sometimes these signs are of, you know, when you’re vomiting and things like that, it can be a sign in women of a bigger issue,” McCombe says. She was seeking confirmation that wasn’t the case.
Disappointed, with her stomach still feeling off, she says she decided to boost her gut health with probiotics. After a couple weeks she started to feel like herself.
But since then, McCombe says, “I’m back on Kawartha Dairy cream in my coffee.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
VANCOUVER – Mayors and other leaders from several British Columbia communities say the provincial and federal governments need to take “immediate action” to tackle mental health and public safety issues that have reached crisis levels.
Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim says it’s become “abundantly clear” that mental health and addiction issues and public safety have caused crises that are “gripping” Vancouver, and he and other politicians, First Nations leaders and law enforcement officials are pleading for federal and provincial help.
In a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier David Eby, mayors say there are “three critical fronts” that require action including “mandatory care” for people with severe mental health and addiction issues.
The letter says senior governments also need to bring in “meaningful bail reform” for repeat offenders, and the federal government must improve policing at Metro Vancouver ports to stop illicit drugs from coming in and stolen vehicles from being exported.
Sim says the “current system” has failed British Columbians, and the number of people dealing with severe mental health and addiction issues due to lack of proper care has “reached a critical point.”
Vancouver Police Chief Adam Palmer says repeat violent offenders are too often released on bail due to a “revolving door of justice,” and a new approach is needed to deal with mentally ill people who “pose a serious and immediate danger to themselves and others.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024
