drug policy – Page 4 – Matters of Substance

The harm reduction series on CARBC’s Matters of Substance blog has spent the past three months examining the scope of harm reduction as an approach to reducing harms of drug and alcohol use. These posts explore harm reduction as we know it today by going beyond evidence of injection drug users engaged in HIV prevention programs; rather, we establish that harm reduction now includes a wide range of user-informed, user-specific initiatives. For instance, some of the blog contributions include introductions to crack kit distribution, safe consumption services, syringe access for prisoners, opioid substitution treatment, managed alcohol programs, Housing First programs, and even e-cigarettes. Such initiatives have shaped a public health landscape in BC that focuses not on drug and alcohol use itself, but instead on the determinants of health which influence safer substance use environments.

This blog series has shown that harm reduction works – and as a pragmatic approach to public health, it is only appropriate that we highlight some more recent research taking place in the harm reduction field. The post by Ashraf Amlani and Dr. Jane Buxton reveals that B.C.’s Take Home Naloxone Program has saved an overwhelming 55 lives from 600 naloxone kits distributed since 2012. Among the over 30 research studies conducted at Insite, we learn that supervised consumption sites increase access to drug treatment, decrease drug use and disease transmission, and eliminate on-site overdose deaths – collectively, a social benefit worth approximately $6 million per year. We also learn that such approaches work across populations, with crack pipe distribution decreasing crack cocaine use and disease transmission in Vancouver.

These examples and other evidence have helped change both the political and public health climate in British Columbia. Harm reduction expert Dr. Carol Strike used such evidence to develop best practices, setting a higher precedence for public health practices across the country. Perhaps one of the main themes in these best practices, and our blog series overall, is user-informed, user-involved public health practice and policy. Actively engaging the people who are affected by drug and alcohol use not only makes sense and provides insight, but also creates a trusting environment, increases legitimacy and contributes to the self-worth of the community itself – a “win-win-win” situation.

An early post in the harm reduction blog series reveals that over three-quarters of British Columbians support harm reduction. Exciting, right? But even after 10 years of passionate debate, evidence building and community organizing, all of our guest bloggers acknowledge that there is still a lot of work to do.

Donald MacPherson, the Director of the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition, points out that one of the biggest hurdles we face is advancing public health policy in the face of criminalization of drug use. As such, MacPherson argues, we must continue to urge the government to eliminate criminalization of drug use in an effort to maximize a more comprehensive approach to drug problems. Without action, we risk perpetuating more harm being caused by these policies.

And although the public is becoming more comfortable with needle exchanges (over 72 percent of British Columbians are in support), they are still warming up to supervised injection sites across the country. One reason for this may be a more limited public perception and understanding of sometimes counterintuitive, non-traditional approaches to substance use, such as managed alcohol use programs and a Housing First model.

So what’s next? The fact remains that while we have gained momentum in public health, there is still a lot of work to do. Over the next couple years, we have the opportunity to translate evidence and public opinion into policy and connect it to a more comprehensive approach to public health. We’ll get there by raising our voices, continuing to present evidence and working to inform best practices. We certainly look forward to continuing the conversation.

Author: Alissa Greer, Centre for Addictions Research of BC

*Please note that the material presented here does not necessarily imply endorsement or agreement by individuals at the Centre for Addictions Research of BC

Calls for supervised consumption services (SCS) are gaining momentum and popularity. Here in Victoria, B.C., the YES2SCS campaign advocates for the establishment of supervised consumption services in the city within five years. SCS have been heralded for their ability to provide safer spaces for people to use drugs — spaces free from criminalization, stigmatization and violence.

In arguing for the benefits of SCS, proponents (myself included) seek to move conversations into the mainstream by focusing on the medicalized and supervised aspect of the service (clean and sanitary spaces with nurse supervision, access to detox and treatment, etc.). While these are meaningful and significant aspects of SCS, we tend to focus less on another crucial aspect of these services: peer support.

The value of peer leadership, peer support and peer-delivered services has been extensively documented. A report called Harm Reduction at Work summarizes the benefits and highlights best practices for hiring people who use drugs in harm-reduction services. The benefits include, but are in no way limited to:

Providing public-health information about safer use and harm-reduction supplies in a way that makes sense to people accessing the service
Providing insight to the organization to inform program design and delivery (e.g., drug use trends, what’s happening on the street, etc.)
Creating a trusting and culturally safe environment for those accessing services
Increasing the legitimacy of the hiring organization and sending a message to the community that the organization sees people who use drugs as knowledgeable and valuable
Contributing to self worth, feelings of accomplishment and participation of people who use drugs

In short, meaningful inclusion of people who use drugs in harm-reduction services is a win-win-win that benefits the people who use the service, the employing organization and the people with experiential knowledge who fill these roles.

People who use drugs have profoundly negative experiences accessing healthcare. Experiences of stigmatization, criminalization and violence in the healthcare system compound and impact all future interactions with healthcare workers. When a person accesses health services and realizes they are speaking with a person who has “been there; done that,” the power shift is evident and recognizable.

In my experience,* the presence of people who use drugs shifts the usual service provider/client power dynamic. It forces workers in an organization to speak differently about their “clients” and creates new norms and complicates the typical “us/them” dynamic. Workers without drug-use experience are privileged to learn how their practice may impact people who use the service. For instance, they can be immediately informed when they are not making sense or are practicing in a way that is inaccessible, paternalistic or just plain using incorrect information. Most importantly, it keeps things “real;” street reality is brought into the organization practice, encouraging a radical element in the organization with constant reminders that this work is about love, family, life and death.

Meaningful inclusion of people who have “been there; done that” is imperative to the success of SCS and harm-reduction services.

Author: Ashley Mollison, Graduate Student, Centre for Addictions Research of B.C.

* I write on this topic not as someone who identifies as a “peer,” a person who currently or formerly uses illicit drugs, but as someone who has seen peer support in action. I have witnessed the value of peer leadership and support in my work with Society of Living Illicit Drug Users (SOLID) and AIDS Vancouver Island. SOLID is a harm-reduction organization run by and for people who use(d) drugs and AVI has recently hired people specifically for their experiential knowledge of drug use, street and prison culture in their harm-reduction program.

**Please note that the material presented here does not necessarily imply endorsement or agreement by individuals at the Centre for Addictions Research of BC

Tag: drug policy

Harm Reduction in BC: We set the pace, but can we keep it up?

“Been There; Done That:” the Necessity of Embedding Peer Leadership and Support in Supervised Consumption and Harm-Reduction Services