Reducing confusion about harm reduction

CAMH's Pamela Fralick Community Information Forum on Addiction held in May

With debate about federal funding for a safe injection site in Vancouver raging in the media, more than 150 people gathered in Mississauga to hear American harm reduction expert Dr. Ernest Drucker speak at the 2008 Pamela Fralick Community Information Forum on Addiction, presented in partnership with the Region of Peel Public Health and with Peel HIV/AIDS Network.

The audience of service providers, harm reduction advocates and members of the public listened to Dr. Drucker’s presentation as well as a panel discussion by notable Canadian addictions experts.

Dr. Ernie Drucker provided a comprehensive and revelatory look at drug control policies in the US and the effects of such policies on American society and institutions, and the health status of various populations.

CAMH Executive Vice President, Policy Education and Health Promotion, and event moderator Gail Czukar; Dr. Ernest Drucker; Pamela Fralick; CAMH President and CEO Dr. Paul Garfinkel.

He noted that there are some 40,000 people who are identified as HIV/AIDS positive each year in the US and 25 per cent of them do not have access to free health care. Further, there are no needle exchange programs operating in the US and condom distribution is restricted. By not taking such harm reduction measures, the result is unnecessary spreading of HIV/AIDS.

According to Dr. Drucker, the criminalization and strict sentencing regulations for drug users has resulted in mass incarceration and the ‘demonization’ of drug users, with over two million people currently jailed for drug offences. “The (American) criminal justice system is an industry that lives off drug users who have no access to resources,” he says.

Panelist Susan Shepherd of the Toronto Drug Strategy asked the audience to consider the role of cities to craft strategies to deal holistically with the harms of drug use to individuals and communities. She urged people to push back on Bill C-26, being introduced to impose mandatory minimum sentences for drug offences and to remove harm reduction from national drug policies.

Commenting on the significant racialization of drug offences in the US, Dr. Drucker cited research that shows African American men have a one in three chance of ending up in jail, yet there is little difference between drug use rates between African American and white males.

Canada at a crossroads

While applauding the harm reduction work being done in Canada through various projects and harm reduction advocacy groups, in particular, Vancouver’s Insite safe injection site and the North American Opiate Medication Initiative (NAOMI) project, Dr. Drucker cautioned that Canada is at a crucial crossroads in how it navigates the future of harm reduction.

Responding to Dr. Drucker's comments, Karen Parsons, a panel member from Peel Addiction Assessment and Referral Centre (PAARC), emphasized the need to continue harm reduction work in Peel by exploring how drug users experience their lives and to respond not just with treatment but to address the social determinants of health, like housing.

Susan Shepherd, Toronto Drug Strategy; Tom Regehr, CAST Canada; Karen Parsons, Peel Addiction Assessment and Referral Centre; Dr. Pat Erickson, CAMH

Panelist Tom Regehr, of CAST Canada, invited people to write to the Prime Minister to support the continuation of Insite and he counselled them to have “open hearts and open mouths” and connect with compassion to people who need support with addictions.

Pamela Fralick, former CAMH Board Chair, spoke eloquently and passionately about the need for people to ‘raise our voices’ to increase funding for addictions services across the province and that CAMH has a unique role to play in educating and informing around the needs of people living with addictions.

The Pamela Fralick Community Information Forum on Addiction is part of the CAMH’s broader public education efforts aimed at increasing public understanding of addiction and mental health issues and helping Ontarians to make informed decisions about their health care. CAMH was very pleased to partner with the Regional of Peel Health and the Peel HIV/AIDS Network to present the lecture looks forward to moving ahead with harm reduction issues in Peel.