The federal government says its expanded drug and substance use strategy will save more lives and provide more services to people disproportionately affected by Canada’s overdose crisis.
Since the development of the Canadian Drugs and Substances Strategy in 2016, the drug landscape has changed and the supply is increasingly toxic, Health Canada said Monday in presenting its “renewed” plan.
The COVID-19 pandemic also exposed gaps in the government’s approach and highlighted the need for a more holistic and integrated response, the federal agency said.
“The harms of substance use and the overdose crisis arise from many complex and interrelated factors. To act on these factors, we must have a full range of services and support measures,” we can read on the Health Canada website, on a page updated Monday.
The strategy’s priority areas are prevention and education, treatment, harm reduction, recovery support, evidence and substance control.
The update places greater emphasis on addressing inequalities in these areas, Health Canada said.
This means investing in community programs to reach youth, marginalized groups, and others disproportionately exposed to harms due to substance use.
Poverty, mental illness, exposure to peer substance use, unmanaged chronic pain, unstable access to housing, and trauma are all risk factors.
Discrimination and trauma experienced by Indigenous people, Black people and LGBTQ+ people can put them at higher risk, adds Health Canada.
The strategy also focuses on substance control, including tackling organized crime that fuels the illegal drug market.
Tools for police and the justice system include training on stigma among substance users, overdose monitoring, and ways to divert people who use drugs from the criminal justice system to health and social services .
Investment
Ya’ara Saks, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health, also said Monday that $21 million will be dedicated to 54 harm reduction projects across the country.
This money is part of the 144 million in the federal budget reserved earlier this year for the fight against drug addiction.
“The goal of our comprehensive, compassionate approach is to reduce risk and save lives. We support community organizations that are well anchored in their communities, who enjoy the trust of their clients and who have the first-hand knowledge necessary to make a real difference in people’s lives,” said Ms.me Saks, by press release.
The Toronto Drug Checking Service, run by St. Michael’s Hospital, received $2 million in those funds over two years, said Karen McDonald, head of the service.
The money will allow more people to get their drugs checked in more places, Ms.me McDonald in an interview.
“We’re going to be able to open more sites so we can interact with more service users and collect more samples,” she said.
People come to the service with the drugs they plan to use and a sample is sent to a laboratory, Ms.me McDonalds. The results come back about a day later with information about what the drugs actually contain, which the user may not be aware of.
In addition to providing information to individuals, the service shares its overall findings with the community so people have a better idea of the contaminants circulating in drugs.
Fentanyl samples are often contaminated with central nervous system suppressants such as xylazine or benzodiazepines, which increase the risk of overdose.
“When we talk about the supply of fentanyl, we see that it is incredibly and increasingly contaminated and unpredictable,” said Ms.me McDonalds.
“This is precisely what is causing the death of our communities. So people just don’t know what they’re using. »