WHAI. 2024. A Landscape of Community Change: A resource to support WHAI's response to the TRC's Calls to Action and the Reclaiming Power & Place Report's Calls for Justice. - WHAI Toronto 

DULF’s press conference (legal update)

HRNA webinar: Care is not coerced - nurse historian Dr. Michelle Danda and RN Corey Ranger

ESCODI. 2024. Recent publications in English. 

Québec Clinical Guide on Support for People with Opioid Use Disorder
Summary Table of Pharmacological Treatments for OUD Decision-making Tool to Support Treatment Selection 
My Treatment, My Choices
 

NSSCoP October Research Spotlight webinars:

- Safer Supply Ottawa - Summer 2024 report and webinar featuring experiences of safer stimulant supply clients

- Thunder Bay Safer Supply Program Evaluation - webinar and report

Crackdown Podcast - Losing BC

A Dose of Reality Podcast (Ensemble Moncton) - Seeing Beyond the Stigma

CCSA. 2024. Community Urinalysis and Self-Report Project: Overall Cross-Canada Trends in Substance Use, 2021-2023. Report. And Site recruitment to participate in this project. 

UHN’s peer support workers are reinventing emergency care

Opioids and Work Data Tool - from the Opioid Related Harms Among Ontario Workers Project by  the Institute for Work and Health and the Ontario Cancer Research Centre. 
 

Upcoming Canadian Health Coalition webinar: What are the real solutions to Canada’s toxic drug crisis? Featuring DJ Larkin (CDPC), Chris Gallaway (Friends of Medicare - Alberta), Valerya Edelma (St. Thomas University) November 4th, 7 pm ET. 

Resources related to the Ontario CTS closures, HART Hubs, potential legislation

- NSSCoP spreadsheet includes documents from the Ministry of Health, statements and media releases, letters of support templates and actions underway, a list of media coverage, and key messages (in progress). Note: this is not exhaustive. The spreadsheet permits comments, so please comment with additions.

Wilson, P., Colizza, K., and Hyshka, E.  2024. Safer supply and political interference in medical practice: Alberta’s Narcotic Transition Services IJDP

• The Alberta Government significantly limited access to safer supply using false narratives.
• Prescribers were framed as harmful and requiring increased restrictions.
• People who use drugs were framed as criminals and a danger to the public.
• These narratives allowed for political inference in medical decision-making.

Ivsins, A., et al. 2024. Repurposing prescribed hydromorphone Alternative uses of safer supply and tablet-injectable opioid agonist treatment to meet unaddressed health needs. IJDP
 

Methods: In-depth qualitative interviews from two studies evaluating hydromorphone tablet distribution programs in BC. A thematic analysis was used to identify themes related to repurposing hydromorphone. 

Results: While most participants reported reducing their use of illicit drugs, a variety of instrumental uses of tablet hydromorphone were also discussed, including reducing anxiety, addressing sleep issues, withdrawal management, and managing chronic pain.

Conclusion: Our findings demonstrate how people who use drugs are maximizing the benefits of tablet hydromorphone distribution to address unmet needs. Hydromorphone distribution programs represent a public health and harm reduction intervention that is usefully addressing experiences related to structural vulnerabilities (such as inadequate pain management), which are often overlooked amongst stigmatized groups.
 

Werb, et al. (2024).  Investigating the Spatial Association between Supervised Consumption Services and Homicide Rates in Toronto, Canada, 2010-2023 

Nosyk, B., et al. 2024. Buprenorphine/Naloxone vs Methadone for the Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder JAMA

Qeadan, F., et al. 2024. The association between glucose‐dependent insulinotropic polypeptide and/or glucagon‐like peptide‐1 receptor agonist prescriptions and substance‐related outcomes in patients with opioid and alcohol use disorders: A real‐world data analysis - Qeadan - Addiction  

Beeler, S., et. al. 2024. Community-Based Medical Education in Addiction and Harm Reduction: Perspectives on Addiction Medicine Training - ScienceDirect 

Dickson, W., et al. 2024. Borne of Necessity: Pharmacy-Based Harm Reduction and Express Sexually Transmitted Infection Services - ScienceDirect Journal of the American Pharmacists Association

Coney, et al. 2024. Comparison of strength and adulteration between illicit drugs obtained from cryptomarkets versus off‐line  

Brown, et al. 2024. “Give me the reigns of taking care of myself with a home”: Healing environments in an Indigenous-led alcohol harm reduction program 

Jiao, et al. 2024. Opioid-specific harm reduction in the emergency department: how staff provide harm reduction and contextual factors that impact their capacity to engage in harm reduction practice | Harm Reduction Journal 

Ramirez, MP, et al. 2024. Predictors of Future Overdose Among People Who Inject Drugs in Baltimore, Maryland - ScienceDirect 

Carnide, et al. 2024. Risk of opioid-related harms by occupation within a large cohort of formerly injured workers in Ontario, Canada: findings from the Occupational Disease Surveillance System

Gage, et al. 2024. Layperson-Administered Naloxone Trends Reported in Emergency Medical Service Activations, 2020-2022. 

De Vrieze, et al. 2024. Nitazene test strips: a laboratory evaluation | Harm Reduction Journal 

Bozinoff, N., et al. 2024. Facilitators of and barriers to buprenorphine initiation in the emergency department: a scoping review - The Lancet Regional Health 
 

International

I Just Overdosed Again. This Time, It Was Different. By Matt Bonn in Filter Magazine 

How fentanyl traffickers are exploiting a U.S. trade law 

Fentanyl and Teens: The Drug Is Taking Over the Lives of Young People Without Support in Place to Help Them

A controversial but effective treatment for meth addiction gains ground 

A new way to support grandparents raising kids affected by the addiction epidemic 

Fentanyl deaths in the U.S. have dropped faster than expected, CDC says 

Virtual reality to be used in UK trial to help people beat cocaine addiction | Drugs | The Guardian 

Ozempic May Fight Alcohol and Opioid Addiction, Study Suggests 

National

Promoting involuntary treatment of drug users is good populist politics, but is it good health care?  

Poilievre says he supports involuntary addiction treatment for minors, prisoners | CBC News 

Canada doesn't have enough beds to support involuntary addictions treatment, minister says  
Harm reduction in Canada’s jails
Universities continue to grapple with the opioid epidemic  
Opinion: Canada’s harm reduction legacy is under threat. We must not turn back - The Globe and Mail

BC

Drug Policy Experts Say BC Conservatives’ ‘Dehumanizing’ Rhetoric About People Who Use Drugs is Going Too Far 

B.C. Conservatives release plan to address toxic drug crisis | CBC News 

The housing crisis is increasing wait times for publicly funded voluntary treatment 

B.C.’s experiments in involuntary care face two crucial tests against the evidence and the electorate - The Globe and Mail 

Drug using teens would benefit from involuntary care: Kelowna doctor 

AB

Leong: Safeworks controversy shows needs to close gap between drug treatment and harm reduction 

Opinion: Supervised consumption services improve public health in ways that benefit all Calgarians - The Globe and Mail 

Opinion: Closure of Calgary’s supervised consumption site is a death sentence 

Alberta drug deaths underreported by 25 per cent: researcher - St. Albert News 

New book details story of Blood Tribe's addictions framework
Alberta's UCP government used 'false narratives' to justify safe supply policies: commentary
Experts, Beltline community debate future of Calgary's supervised consumption site | CBC News
'We're exhausted': Harm reduction advocates rally as city council prepares to discuss fate of supervised consumption site

SK 

Saskatchewan government policy to blame for surge in public drug use and homelessness: Prairie Harm Reduction | CTV News 

Pivot to intervene at the Supreme Court of Canada in R v Wilson 

MB

Manitoba introduces virtual access to addiction treatment | Winnipeg Sun 

Manitoba's harm reduction a bust in our communities, say rural mayors | Winnipeg Sun 

New data on Manitoba overdose deaths 

New drug overdose numbers show victims skew older than many Manitobans assume: advocate   
As used needles pile up, western Manitoba municipalities want distribution of clean syringes curbed | CBC.ca 
Need for youth addiction/mental health strategy

ON - for media coverage of the Ontario CTS closures and HART hubs - please see this document

Hamilton to get harm-reduction vending machine that dispenses safe injection kits, other supplies | CBC News 

Worry mounts about safe-supply drug diversion in Sarnia 

Collaboration boosts supports for those living with addictions in Huron 

Police investigating after death at supervised drug consumption facility in London | CBC News 

Toxic drugs blamed for person’s death at supervised consumption site in London, Ont. Kingston council OK's conditions for continued care hub funding | CBC News 

Brampton mayor proposes involuntary treatment for people with addiction, mental health issues

Use of notwithstanding clause for forced drug treatment 'dangerous' threat to human rights in Ontario, advocates say | INsauga

‘These are incredibly complex issues’: 5 opinions on implementing involuntary treatment for people with mental illness, addictions and brain injury in Guelph 

Mental health advocates slam Windsor mayor's support of involuntary treatment 

City provides resources to residents in areas with high number of overdose incidents, deaths  

Sudbury paramedics, hospital roll out new approach to opioid overdose calls | CBC News 

QC

Quebec addiction centres at risk of shutting down over government payment delays | CTV News
Synthetic drug potency increases, raising overdose risks for youth | CTV News 

YK/NWT/NVT

Vet medication known on the street as ‘tranq’ leads to more overdose deaths in Yukon 4 people confirmed dead of toxic drug use over 11-day period in Whitehorse this fall | CBC News
What harm reduction programs does the NWT offer?
 

Atlantic

Christian addiction program only option for some in N.B. as waitlists for treatment grow   

Harm-reduction refund: Would a deposit keep used needles from littering public places?  

They're tackling addiction on Bell Island with soap, oatcakes and art — and some big dreams  

Construction of New Adult Mental Health and Addictions Centre Complete - News Releases 

New Centre for Addictions Care in Halifax – haligonia.ca

Is conservatism really on the rise in Canada? Blaine Higgs’ big loss in New Brunswick suggests not