Heroin at the Corner Store Rotary Club of Vancouver January 23 rd , - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

January 23rd, 2017

Heroin at the Corner Store

Rotary Club of Vancouver

Illicit Overdose Deaths and Rate per 100,000

January 1, 2007 – October 31, 2017. BC Coroners Office, 2017.

The United Nations Gang Photo: The Vancouver Sun (January 17, 2012)

The Bacon Brothers

1000 Crosses, Oppenheimer Park Photo: Elaine Brière

Insite (Interior) Vancouver Supervised Injection Site

Mayor Nenshi “Nails It”

No fan of supervised injection sites, Calgary’s Mayor Naheed Nenshi, describes SCS: “I find that they almost feel like an admission that we’re not able to solve the problem, but that said, my personal feelings aside, the evidence is absolutely clear. Absolutely clear. They save people’s lives, and our job today has to be to save people’s lives. ”

—CBC News (March 3, 2017)

9

Overdose Deaths per 100,000

10

Overdose Deaths per 100,000

11

Overdose Deaths per 100,000

12

Overdose Deaths per 100,000

13

Overdose Deaths per 100,000

Resilience is the capacity to deal with change and continue to develop.

“…the ability of human communities to withstand and recover from stresses, such as environmental change

• r social, economic or political upheaval. Resilience in societies

and their life-supporting ecosystems is crucial in maintaining options for future development. ”

—Stockholm Resilience Centre, definition of Social Resilience

Resilience and Adaptability

Resilience and Adaptability

Price, Purity and Investment

Public Health Approach

Health and Social Problems

Strict Legal Regulation

Heroin Cocaine

Prohibition Prohibition with harm reduction/decriminalization Light Market Regulation Commercial Promotion

Cannabis Methamphetamine Tobacco Alcohol Criminal Profit Corporate Profit

Public Health

The Harms of Prohibition

Criminal Profit Undermines development and security, fuels conflict Threatens public health, spreads disease and death Wastes billions on drug law enforcement Creates crime and enriches criminals Promotes stigma and discrimination Deforestation and pollution Undermines human rights

Count the Costs (2016) Transform Drug Policy Foundation

The Harms of Corporate Promotion

Corporate Profit Industry-funded research discredits scientific findings about health dangers Maximizes profit through promotion and misleading safety info Imperative to expand markets and target specific populations Cannabis corporate profits (to be determined)

• J. Drope, S. A. Bialous, S. A. Glantz

Tobacco Control, British Medical Journal (2004)

A Public Health Approach

Reduces the Harms of Prohibition and Corporate Promotion

Public Health

Use of psychedelics in therapeutic contexts Prescription of heroin and stimulants Decriminalization (Portugal, 2001) Regulation (cannabis, 2018) Drug checking

Health Officers Council of BC (2011)

Public Health Approach

Health and Social Problems

Strict Legal Regulation

Heroin Cocaine

Prohibition Prohibition with harm reduction/decriminalization Light Market Regulation Commercial Promotion

Cannabis Methamphetamine Tobacco Alcohol Criminal Profit Corporate Profit

Public Health

Responses Avail. for Illegal Drugs

(Limited)

Enfo forcement Educa cation a and aw awaren eness Socially ially s stig igmatiz ized through cr crimin inaliz alizatio ion Treatme ment a and Harm R m Reducti tion

Regulation of Cannabis

Age ge Degr egree o

• f intoxif

ific icatio ion Volume me r rationing Limi mited ed p places es t to u use Requ equired t d training ng pr prior t to us use Maximum v m volumes mes f for p purchase e and po nd possession Training o

• f supplier

er Monitoring o g of us use w e with dr driving ng Illeg egal d dealer ers p pursued ed b by enforcemen ement Ret etail o

• utlets l

licen ensed ed a and limited ed Appe ppearanc nce o

• f r

retail o

• ut

utlets Taxed Licensing, ng, l location a n and o nd open pening ng hours o

• f c

consumptio ion f facilit ilitie ies Socia ially s lly stigmatiz ized Prev even ention p progr grams ms Trea eatmen ment Plai ain p packag aging Warning l g label els No a adv dvertising o g or e even ent sponsorships

Regulation of Heroin

Age ge Degr egree o

• f intoxif

ific icatio ion Volume me r rationing Limi mited ed p places es t to u use Requ equired t d training ng pr prior t to us use Regi gistration o

• f p

purchaser ers Licen ensing o g of u users Tracking o g of c consump mption h habits Drug c g consume med o

• n location o
• f s

sale Prescrip iptio ion o

• nly

Maximum v m volumes mes f for pur purchase a and po nd possession Training o

• f supplier

er Monitoring o g of us use w e with dr driving ng Illeg egal d dealer ers p pursued ed b by enforcemen ement Ret etail o

• utlets l

licen ensed ed a and limited ed Appe ppearanc nce o

• f r

retail o

• ut

utlets Pha harmacy s spe pecialist r requ equired Price a and pr nd profit c controls Taxed Licensing, ng, l location a n and o nd open pening ng hours o

• f c

consumptio ion f facilit ilitie ies Socia ially s lly stigmatiz ized Prev even ention p progr grams ms Trea eatmen ment a available Plai ain p packag aging Concen entration o n of pr produc uct i is restricted ed a and l label eled ed Warning l g label els No a adver ertising o

• r ev

event s sponsorships Clean needl needles a and he nd health i h information pr provided w d with pur h purchase

Consumers Union Report 1972

“On the central issue of narcotics addiction, accordingly, Consumers Union recommends (1) that United States drug policies and practices be promptly revised to insure that no narcotics addict need get his drug from the black market; [...]; (3) that other forms of narcotics maintenance, including opium, morphine, and heroin maintenance, be made avail-able along with methadone maintenance under medical auspices on a carefully planned, experimental basis. ”

—Consumers Union Report on Licit and Illicit Drugs (1972)

Vince Cain Report 1994

On legalization: “Canadian laws and United Nations conventions control this matter, but that ought not detract from the reality of the situation in British Columbia. We have the problem, and we must do what we can about it, now. Consequently, I am recommending the establishment of a commission to examine and challenge those legal aspects of the problem, […].”

—Report of the Task Force into Illicit Narcotic Overdose Deaths in British Columbia, Office of the Chief Coroner (1994)

Vince Cain Report 1994

“The problem must be looked at with regard to not only the aspect

• f deaths from heroin and cocaine, but rather the entire

smorgasbord of available illicit narcotics, both so-called ”soft” and “hard” drugs. Simultaneously, I am recommending the decriminalization of simple possession of specific “soft” and “hard” drugs, […].”

—Report of the Task Force into Illicit Narcotic Overdose Deaths in British Columbia, Office of the Chief Coroner (1994)

City of Vancouver 2005

“Recommendation 24: That the Federal Government initiate a process of reviewing Canada's legislative, regulatory and policy frameworks governing illegal drugs with regard to their effecti- veness in preventing and reducing harm from problematic drug use and their effectiveness in enabling municipalities to better address the harm from the sale and use of these substances at the local level AND establish a process with broad participation to consider regulatory alternatives to the current policy of prohibition for currently illegal drugs. ”

—Preventing Harm From Psychoactive Substances (2005)

Lancet Commission 2016

“Decriminalise minor drug offences—use, possession, and petty sale: The long experiences in Portugal, the Czech Republic, and other countries with decriminalisation of minor drug offences demonstrate the benefits of treating minor infractions without recourse to criminal sanctions. ”

—Lancet Commission on Public Health and Drug Policy (2016)

Lancet Commission 2016

“Scientific approach to regulatory experiments: We believe that the weight of evidence for the health and other harms of criminal markets and other consequences of prohibition catalogued in this Commission is likely to lead more countries (and more US states) to move gradually towards regulated drug markets—a direction we endorse. ”

—Lancet Commission on Public Health and Drug Policy (2016)

British Medical Journal 2016

“Evidence and ethics should inform policies that promote health and respect dignity. It is no surprise, then, that (there have been calls for reform, including from the World Health Organization, UNAIDS, the UN Development Programme, and the UN human rights agency, as well as non-governmental organisations, former heads

• f

state, UK parliamentarians, some law enforcers, and medical journals.)”

—The war on drugs has failed: doctors should lead calls for drug policy reform (Nov 14, 2016)

• Acknowledge the catastrophic failure!
• Stop pretending that more of the same will work!
• Mount a true emergency response - replace the toxic

drug supply through public health mechanism

• Stigma a big problem – then decriminalize
• Support safe tables for collaboration on alternative

regulatory approaches.

• Engage the brightest minds in creating a new regulatory
• system. We can do it!

Governments Need to:

Thank you!

drugpolicy.ca