ARYS
At-Risk Youth Study. Street-involved youth aged 14 to 26 who use unregulated drugs other than cannabis.
What we have found
ARYS answers are pooled and turned into research that shapes services and policy. Here is some of what we have found.
Medical treatment matters, but it is not enough
Opioid agonist therapy (OAT) cuts daily street opioid use among youth and young adults who use drugs.
But young people on OAT do not see improvements in other important areas, like getting services, housing and staying out of jail.
More than two thirds of ARYS participants are not on OAT.
Over two thirds of young people who start methadone later stop.
Young people report low interest in starting buprenorphine-naloxone (Suboxone).
What it meansYoung people need a range of health and social services, harm reduction, and more options for medical treatment, not just one.
Which prescribed opioids would help people use street opioids less?
681 people from VIDUS, ACCESS and ARYS who used street opioids (down, fentanyl or heroin) were asked between June 2021 and November 2022.
74%
said yes to: "If you could be prescribed any medical-grade opioid you wanted, would any make you use street opioids less?"
- Said it was their opioid of choice
- Got a prescription for it in the past 6 months
- Medical-grade heroin (diacetylmorphine)
- Fentanyl patches
- Fentanyl powder
Out of 504 people.
Show as a table
| Opioid | Said it was their opioid of choice | Got a prescription for it in the past 6 months |
|---|---|---|
| Medical-grade heroin (diacetylmorphine) | 43% | 6% |
| Fentanyl patches | 11% | 13% |
| Fentanyl powder | 11% | 0% |
What it means
Most people said their preferred prescription could help, but very few were actually getting it. Safer supply should keep being tried and studied as a way to prevent overdose deaths.
Where the answers come from
ARYS started in 2005. It is an ongoing study that follows young people who use unregulated drugs in Vancouver. It works alongside two other BCCSU studies, VIDUS and ACCESS.
VIDUS
Vancouver Injection Drug Users Study. HIV-negative adults who inject drugs.
ACCESS
AIDS Care Cohort to evaluate Exposure to Survival Services. HIV-positive adults who use unregulated drugs other than cannabis.
Read the papers
- Pilarinos A, Fast D, Nosova E, Kwa Y, Joe R, Buxton JA, DeBeck K. Initiation of opioid agonist treatment and subsequent substance use and other patterns among adolescents and young adults in Vancouver, Canada. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2022;235:109441.
- Pilarinos A, Bingham B, Kwa Y, Joe R, Grant C, Fast D, Buxton J, DeBeck K. Interest in using buprenorphine-naloxone among a prospective cohort of street-involved young people in Vancouver, Canada. J Subst Use Addict Treat. 2023;148:209005.
- Pilarinos A, Kwa Y, Joe R, Dong H, Grant C, Fast D, Buxton JA, DeBeck K. Methadone maintenance treatment discontinuation among young people who use opioids in Vancouver, Canada. Can J Psychiatry. 2023;68(2):89-100.
- Speed KA, Choi JC, Felicella G, Sedgemore KO, Mok WY, Milloy MJ, DeBeck K, Kerr T, Hayashi K. Preferred pharmaceutical-grade opioids to reduce the use of unregulated opioids: a cross-sectional analysis among people who use unregulated opioids in Vancouver, Canada. Int J Drug Policy. 2024;132:104564.