Community Information Forum on Addiction: The Future of Harm Reduction

For Immediate Release – May 15, 2008 – (TORONTO) – Whether it’s needle exchange, safer crack use kits or safe injection sites, harm reduction remains a topical health, policy and enforcement issue in Canada. The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), in partnership with the Region of Peel, Public Health and the Peel HIV/AIDS Network, is presenting the Pamela Fralick Community Information Forum on Addiction, Balancing Public Health and Drug Control Policies: The Future of Harm Reduction featuring U.S. public health researcher and drug policy specialist Prof. Ernest Drucker and a panel of drug use and policy experts from Toronto and Peel.

The Forum will be held on May 22, 2008 at the Living Arts Centre, Staging Room, 4141 Living Arts Drive, Mississauga at 6:30pm.

The public health and social cost implications of addiction, including the loss of productivity and the spread of disease, remains a concern in many communities, as does the enforcement of laws against drug traffickers and their application to those with substance use problems. The balance between these priorities has been the issue of continued debate in Canada and requires constant reality checks.

“The last half century has seen global drug consumption soar and the expansion of illicit drug markets worldwide. Despite (or perhaps because of) the US led international “war on drugs” which aims to “ rid the world of illicit drugs,” the number of countries reporting injecting drug use has increased steadily over the past 30 years,” said Dr. Ernest Drucker, Professor of Epidemiolgy and Social Medicine at Montefiore Medical Center and at Columbia University School of Public Health in New York, who is the keynote speaker at the forum. “As one of the first countries to embrace harm reduction as a valid approach to prevention and treatment, drug policy decisions in Canada have a large impact on other countries that look to Canada as a model. This is especially important in the US, where federal policy is opposed to harm reduction. ”

Dr. Drucker will address the evolution of harm reduction policies, share examples of what has  and has not worked internationally (especially in the US) and discuss Canada’s key role in the future development of effective drug policies worldwide.

While needle exchange or safe injection sites tend to get media profile, Gail Czukar, CAMH’s Vice-President of Policy, Education and health promotion says it’s important to note that harm reduction as a treatment approach to addiction has a much wider range and includes such applications as nicotine replacement therapy (‘the patch’) and server interventions which decrease public drunkenness.

“Research tells us that harm reduction strategies can provide an effective and pragmatic approach to managing addiction and to combating the stigma associated with it,” said Czukar, who will moderate the Pamela Fralick Forum.

“When used as part of a four-pillared approach that includes prevention, treatment and enforcement, harm reduction helps improve the health of those with substance use problems and the community,” Czukar said, adding that CAMH approaches harm reduction from the point of view of client-centred care and partnership in treatment. Harm reduction is one approach that is offered within a broader spectrum that includes programs with an abstinence-based philosophy.

Panel speakers will include:

• Dr. Pat Erickson, CAMH Senior Scientist in Public Health and Regulatory Policy with the Social, Prevention and Health Policy Research Department

• Karen Parsons, Peel Addiction Assessment and Referral Centre (PAARC)
• Tom Regehr, CAST Canada, Self-help group founder who overcame addiction and homelessness 
• Susan Shepherd, Toronto Drug Strategy

For more information or to arrange interviews please contact Michael Torres, Media Relations, CAMH at (416) 595-6015.

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The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) is Canada's largest mental health and addiction teaching hospital, as well as one of the world's leading research centres in the area of addiction and mental health. CAMH is fully affiliated with the University of Toronto, and is a Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization Collaborating Centre.

CAMH combines clinical care, research, education, policy development and health promotion to transform the lives of people affected by mental health and addiction issues.

 

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