How can I start opioid treatment today, and can I stay on Suboxone or methadone in rehab?

Same-day opioid care in Canada — BC's opioid treatment access line, rapid-access clinics, Suboxone and methadone starts — and staying on OAT in a program.

With opioids, the fastest door is usually the safest one, because the risk isn’t the withdrawal — it’s what happens after tolerance drops.

Today, in BC

BC runs a provincial Opioid Treatment Access Line for same-day access to opioid agonist treatment (Suboxone/buprenorphine, methadone) — the province’s page explains who it’s for and how it works. No residential bed is required to start medication; starting medication is treatment.

Today, in Ontario

Rapid-access addiction medicine (RAAM) clinics — walk-in or low-barrier — start medication and care quickly; Health Canada’s treatment-settings page describes them. ConnexOntario (1-866-531-2600, free, 24/7) tells you the nearest one and its hours.

Is medication “real” recovery?

Canada’s national guideline (CRISM) recommends opioid agonist treatment as first-line care and describes how long people stay on it — often long-term, sometimes tapering later with clinical support. Recovery on Suboxone or methadone is recovery, full stop.

Can I stay on OAT while in a program?

Increasingly yes, and the programs that say so are the ones to choose. Some residential programs still won’t admit people on OAT; we flag which do — our match asks about medication so we only send options that say yes to it.

The one thing to carry

Naloxone. Free in most provinces, no questions. Carry it, tell one person where it is.

Tell us once and a navigator confirms the nearest same-day option and the programs that accept OAT — one introduction, only when you say yes. Overdose or not breathing: 911.

Sources

Last checked 2026-09-10. Rules change; the provincial line or the program's own intake is the final word. Spot an error? Tell us.