Harm Reduction
Rob Ford and missed opportunities for a public discussion on drug use
It’s been a month since Rob Ford’s death. We suspect that many people are ready to move past discussing the legacy of Toronto’s controversial former mayor. But please bear with us. We still need to talk about Rob Ford. There’s one conversation we’ve been ignoring. Public announcements about the health of famous people can spur …
Steve O
Regulating the ‘wild west’ of e-cigarettes
E-cigarettes have exploded onto the market in recent years and there are multi-billion dollar questions swirling around them. Advocates say that they offer a safe and effective smoking cessation aid while opponents are concerned that they may erode the success of decades of tobacco reduction efforts. E-cigarettes have the appearance of tobacco cigarettes and simulate …
Let’s call heroin deaths what they are: preventable
‘Worldwide, overdose is the leading cause of avoidable death among people who use injection drugs.’ United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2013 In newspapers, on social media, and on tv, the death of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman is being framed as a tragedy. We have heard this narrative before. Someone famous dies from an …
New federal rules for supervised injection sites – evidence or ideology?
On June 6, the federal government introduced Bill C-65 entitled the “Respect for Communities Act” which sets out in legislation the requirements for operating supervised injection sites. Such sites are facilities where individuals can consume illicitly obtained drugs under supervision from a health professional and without being prosecuted. There is currently only one supervised injection …