Canadian Drug Policy Coalition
Centre for Applied Research in Mental Health and Addictions, Simon Fraser University #2400 - 515 West Hastings Street V6B 5K3 Vancouver, BC, Canada

"The other health crisis parents say must be treated as urgently as COVID-19: 'We are so tired of all the little Band-Aids. What we need is a plan. https://globalnews.ca//77283/covid-19-other-health-crisis/ #EndOverdose #COVID19Canada

"The local grants will connect people to groups & organizations offering life-saving supports, developing harm reduction policies & building relationships." https://ckpgtoday.ca//b-c-expands-local-overdose-supports/ #BCpoli #EndOverdose

"Quebec is ignoring the overdose crisis, and people are dying: 'I don’t want to have to keep hearing these stories and losing people but it really seems like there’s no end in sight.'" https://ricochet.media//quebec-is-ignoring-the-overdose-cr #QBpoli #EndOverdose

"Regina had 28 overdose deaths in the first two months of 2021: 'It has to be an all-hands-on-deck effort to try and curb this.'" https://leaderpost.com//regina-had-28-overdose-deaths-in-t #SKpoli #EndOverdose

"National concerns raised over opioid crisis mirrored in Sudbury overdose cases: 'Harm reduction is also a key part of the Sudbury community drug strategy which is actively working to locate a venue for a supervised drug consumption site.'" https://www.sudbury.com//national-concerns-raised-over-opi #ONpoli

"2 locations identified for CTS in Cambridge: 'Please vote yes for safety."' https://www.cbc.ca//kitchener-w/opioid-cambridge-1.5969767 #ONpoli #EndOverdose

"Regina organization applying to open safe consumption site after record 1,060 overdoses so far in 2020: 'Urgent action is needed and we're taking that action.'" https://www.cbc.ca//n%C4%93wo-y%C5%8Dtina-friendship-centr #Regina #EndOverdose

The Alberta government waged war on harm reduction and this is the result. https://calgaryherald.com//opioid-overdose-deaths-soar-in- #ABpoli #EndOverdose

"Opioids are killing our loved ones: 'The ease and access of this powerful and deadly drug has wreaked havoc on remote First Nations.'" https://www.thewhig.com//90362550-f228-40c2-8372-9ae78e089 @XKataquapit #EndOverdose

Cannabis = harm reduction. https://vancouversun.com//cannabis-could-reduce-fentanyl-u #Cannabis #HarmReduction

"How Magic Mushrooms Are Changing the Lives of Terminal Cancer Patients: 'It’s not an attempt to prevent death. It’s an attempt to help people die well.'" https://thetyee.ca//Magic-Mushrooms-Changing-Lives-Termin/ The Tyee #DrugPolicy

Stigma casts a shadow on individuals and communities. It has real-world impacts including discrimination, injury, and even death. For people who use drugs, using stigmatizing language perpetuates inaccurate stereotypes. This makes it harder for people to talk openly about substance use and seek help if and when they need it. You can make a difference by changing how you speak, and talking to others about the language they use. It can help save lives. . . . .... . . #EndStigma #StigmaKills #Stigma #HarmReduction #EndOverdose See more

"The war on drugs didn’t work. Oregon’s plan might: 'Criminalization is a dark cloud over all of our other efforts to help people with their drug use and addiction.'" https://www.popsci.com//oregon-drug-decriminalization-war/ @DrMtyndall @DrugPolicy

"5 British Columbians dying every day from #overdose, coroner reports.": No end in sight for the worst overdose crisis in Canadian history. https://www.cbc.ca//br/bc-overdoses-october-2020-1.5815835 #BCpoli #EndOverdose

"Ex-health minister Philpott says federal government should back drug #decriminalization in #Vancouver: 'The approach we've taken until now is not working and real people's lives are on the line'" https://www.cbc.ca//drug-decriminalization-vancouver-philp #BCpoli #EndOverdose

[WEBINAR] Public Safety Personnel Experiences Responding to a Public Restroom Overdose Prevention Alarm. Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/public-safety-personnel-experi

Help us end the overdose crisis. Learn how you can take action through our national initiative #GettingToTomorrow, which aims to tackle stigma, increase understanding and Bridge the divide and tension in communities Ignite a sense of collective possibility Realize solutions to the overdose crisis #CANdrugpolicy www.gettingtotomorrow.ca

"The new initiatives could include a safe supply pilot project or a second consumption site." https://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/new-initiatives-at-guelph-s-ct

"When peers talk to peers, we know that works" https://gettingtotomorrow.ca//peer-health-navigator-progr/ #GettingToTomorrow #NewBrunswick

Meet the #HarmReduction leaders driving change: Les Harper is an Indigenous health promoter in #Toronto whose dedication and work is saving lives and building community during Canada's worst overdose crisis: https://gettingtotomorrow.ca//les-harper-indigenous-healt/ #GettingToTomorrow - - - - - Les Harper : un travailleur autochtone en promotion de la santé qui sauve des vies grâce à la réduction des méfaits et au renforcement communautaire #AllerDeLavant

"Mom who lost son to drug #overdose says more needs to be done in Sask.: 'Sit down with a frontline organization, engage them in discussion and ask them what do we need.'" https://regina.ctvnews.ca/mom-who-lost-son-to-drug-overdose #EndOverdose #Saskatchewan

[VIDEO] "Health officials applaud plan for drug #decriminalization in #Vancouver": It's time to change the ancient drug policies that have done more harm than good. https://globalnews.ca//health-officials-applaud-plan-for-d #BCpoli #EndOverdose

"Albertans discuss overdose deaths in the time of COVID-19: 'I don’t think there is a single family left here now that hasn’t been touched by the death of a person via an overdose.'" https://globalnews.ca//alberta-overdose-deaths-2020-covid/ #ABpoli #EndOverdose

Safer tablet injection: Important resources from British Columbia Centre on Substance Use https://towardtheheart.com//1600371638XIXvT5C87rYowHCsDQM8

When you compare the urgency to COVID, and you compare it to the overdose crisis, it really shows that some lives matter more than others, and drug users lives just don’t matter much and that’s sad https://www.citynews1130.com//surrey-overdose-deaths-bccsu/ #COVID19 #COVID19Canada British Columbia Centre on Substance Use

"Xylazine and AMB-FUBINACA can both produce significant harmful and unexpected effects https://www.toronto.com//10233893-two-harmful-substances-/

"A new way for Quebecers with drug addictions to access help, treatment and support, all on one website: 'Putting all the resources online would allow people to make discrete decisions about where to turn for help.'" https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/a-new-way-for-quebecers-with-dr #Quebec #EndOverdose

Roger Collins and Calabash Bistro are a model for businesses and how they can help, not hinder, #HarmReduction efforts in community : https://gettingtotomorrow.ca//roger-collins-business-owne/ #GettingToTomorrow - - - - - L’impact de la crise des surdoses s’étend bien au-delà des personnes qui consomment des drogues et de leurs familles et ami-es. #AllerDeLavant

"There’s this ‘get tough on crime’ mentality that wins votes in a certain segment of the population that doesn’t want to look at the situation from a place of compassion." https://filtermag.org/alberta-safe-supply-abstinence/amp/ Filter - magazine #ABpoli #DrugPolicy #EndOverdose

A promising area of research https://www.thestar.com//mental-illness-is-on-the-rise-due

A powerful voice for change has been a movement of mothers shifting the way Canada thinks/talks about substance use MomsStopTheHarm https://gettingtotomorrow.ca//angela-welz-mother-moms-sto/ #GettingToTomorrow - - - - - La crise des surdoses nous touche tous et toutes. Toute personne est susceptible de connaître une personne directement affectée. #allerdelavant

Solutions to the overdose crisis will come from the community, and be led by them https://gettingtotomorrow.ca//angel-gates-insight-from-co/ #GettingToTomorrow #EndOverdose - - - - - Angel Gates : Point de vue de la communauté sur les conséquences dévastatrices des politiques canadiennes sur les drogues #AllerDeLavant

"The decriminalization of personal drug use and access to a safe supply of pharmaceutical-grade drugs is needed to help prevent the rising number of deaths caused by the increasingly toxic, illegal supply." https://globalnews.ca//article-examines-pandemic-harm-ove/ #COVID19 #COVID19Canada #coronavirus #EndOverdose

[VIDEO] Let's get there together: "No one's ideology should be more important than another person's life." https://www.youtube.com/watch #GettingToTomorrow #DrugPolicy #EndOverdose #EndStigma

"Sarah Blyth captures her days at the Overdose Prevention Society during two crises: soaring overdoses and the pandemic." https://thetyee.ca/Culture/2020/10/22/Life-DTES-COVID-19/?

A guide for #media & communicators on how to avoid stigmatizing language when reporting on substance use: "Perpetuating inaccurate, stigmatizing stereotypes through language can have harmful consequences" https://gettingtotomorrow.ca//the-impact-of-stigma-and-av/ #GettingToTomorrow #EndStigma - - - - - Le rôle de la stigmatisation dans la consommation de drogues et les récits stigmatisants à éviter

"Record-breaking #s of opioid-related deaths have also been reported in Toronto & Hamilton since the beginning of the pandemic, w/ Toronto paramedics responding to highest # of fatal suspected opioid overdose calls in April & May since Sept 2017" https://www.caledonenterprise.com//10222851-how-covid-19/ #COVID19

Never in Canadian history have we faced a public health crisis like this: 16,364 opioid-related deaths b/w Jan 2016-Mar 2020, each one a person w/ their own story. Collectively the toll speaks to stigma & societal neglect fuelling this crisis https://gettingtotomorrow.ca/multime/infographics-and-data/ #GettingToTomorrow - - - - - Jamais dans l'histoire du Canada nous n'avons été confrontés à une crise de santé publique comme celle-ci: 16 364 décès liés aux opioïdes entre janvier 2016 et mars 2020, chaque décès est une personne ayant sa propre histoire. #AllerDeLavant

[AUDIO] "This is the 6th month of triple digit deaths in BC. Donald MacPherson, executive director of CDPC, joined Adam Stirling on CFAX1070 to talk about what needs to change to prevent these deaths." https://www.iheartradio.ca//127-illicit-drug-overdose-deat #SafeSupply #Decriminalization #DrugPolicy