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Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users

Draft Policy for British Columbia Needle Exchange Agencies Receiving Free Supplies

Publication type: 
Policy Paper / Action Plan
Pages: 
15
Summary: 
The document lists the goals and objectives of regional health authorities in using best practices to provide a range of harm reduction activities for injection drug users. The document includes a statement and brief discussion of the following four policy objectives: Exchange Policy for Needles, Syringes, and other Supplies; Safe Disposal of Needles and Syringes; Facilitating Access to Disease Testing, Treatment and Social Services; and Education. An appendix of 43 summaries of articles about needle exchange policy.
Keywords: 
best practices; British Columbia; drug use; ham reduction; injection drug use; injection drug user; literature review; needle exchange; policy; social services

EMEA Public Statement on the Recommendation to Suspend the Marketing Authorisation for Orlaam (Levacetylmethadol) in the European Union

Publication type: 
Media Release
Date: 
2001-04-19
Pages: 
3
Summary: 
The document is a public statement from the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products (EMEA) advising prescribers not to introduce any new patients to Orlaam therapy following 10 cases of life-threatening cardiac disorders in December 2000. The document includes: a brief background on the EMEA's decision making process; advice to physicians currently treating patients with Orlaam; and a warning to patients being treated with Orlaam to contact their physician immediately and not to stop taking Orlaam without medical advice.
Keywords: 
drugs; drug market; drug treatment; European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products; medicine; methadone; treatment

Health Emergency 1997: The Spread of Drug-Related AIDS Among African Americans and Latinos

Publication type: 
Research Paper / Project Report
Agency: 
Dogwood Centre
Date: 
1997
Pages: 
33
Summary: 
The document, produced by an American research activist, provides information on social and risk factors associated with the spread of injection-related AIDS among African-Americans, Latinos and young adults. The author highlights the health risks that apply to different groups and argues that access to sterile needles would substantially reduce the spread of AIDS among injection drug users. The paper compares the high cost of treating AIDS to the low cost of clean-needle programs, provides scientific evidence for the efficacy of these programs, and includes an account of the historical evolution of clean-needle programs. The author concludes with a question and answer section that addresses the "hard questions" about clean-needle programs. The author also provides suggestions for future actions which include a recommendation that the US government fund these programs.
Keywords: 
AIDS; action research; Dogwood Centre; drug use; harm reduction; HIV/AIDS; injection drug use; injection drug users; needle exchange; prevention; programs; racism; research; safe injection site

Health Emergency 1997: The Spread of Drug-Related AIDS Among African Americans and Latinos

Publication type: 
Research Paper / Project Report
Agency: 
Dogwood Centre
Date: 
1997
Pages: 
33
Summary: 
The document, produced by an American research activist, provides information on social and risk factors associated with the spread of injection-related AIDS among African-Americans, Latinos and young adults. The author highlights the health risks that apply to different groups and argues that access to sterile needles would substantially reduce the spread of AIDS among injection drug users. The paper compares the high cost of treating AIDS to the low cost of clean-needle programs, provides scientific evidence for the efficacy of these programs, and includes an account of the historical evolution of clean-needle programs. The author concludes with a question and answer section that addresses the "hard questions" about clean-needle programs. The author also provides suggestions for future actions which include a recommendation that the US government fund these programs.
Keywords: 
AIDS; action research; Dogwood Centre; drug use; harm reduction; HIV/AIDS; injection drug use; injection drug users; needle exchange; prevention; programs; racism; research; safe injection site

Strengthening Community Health Workshop: I Didn't Know I Knew so Much

Publication type: 
Conference / Meeting Proceedings
Sponsor: 
Health Promotion Directorate; Health and Welfare Canada; B.C. Public Health Association
Date: 
1987-09-22
Pages: 
16
Summary: 
The document summarizes the issues and themes that emerged from a community health workshop held in the downtown eastside of Vancouver using "Achieving Health for All: A Framework for Health Promotion" as a starting point. The document describes the feedback process and format of the workshop, identifies the diversity of the fifty participants, and provides a summary of the three group sessions: Responses to the "Achieving Health for All" document, The Identification of Major Health Issues in This Community, and Strategies and Recommendations. Five appendices are attached that consider issues of isolation, planning, people who fall through the cracks, resources necessary to support the existing self-help network, and self-care recommendations.
Keywords: 
community; community health; community-based organization; downtown eastside; DTES; health; health promotion; Vancouver Urban Core Workers' Association; workshop

Cannabis: Our Position for a Canadian Public Policy - Report of the Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs (Volume IV and Appendices)

Publication type: 
Position Paper
Agency: 
Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs
Sponsor: 
The Senate of Canada
Date: 
2002-09
Pages: 
94
Summary: 
Fourth of four volumes of a report. The Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs held hearings with experts and the public between 2000 and 2002, to review existing policy and the state of the knowledge on cannabis use; identify guiding principles for policy development; and develop a broad public policy framework for addressing cannabis use. This volume contains the appendices to the report: Appendix I (Members and Staff of the Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs); Appendix II (List of Witnesses); Appendix III (Research Papers); and Appendix IV (The Evolution of Canadian Drug Legislation (1908 - 1996): Offences, Penalties, Police Powers and Criminal Procedure).
Keywords: 
Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs; cannabis; pot; marijuana; legislation; Canada; public policy; drugs; drug law reform; policy reform; legislative reform

Cannabis: Our Position for a Canadian Public Policy - Report of the Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs (Volume III: Part IV and Conclusions)

Publication type: 
Position Paper
Agency: 
Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs
Sponsor: 
The Senate of Canada
Date: 
2002-09
Pages: 
229
Summary: 
Third of four volumes of a report. The Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs held hearings with experts and the public between 2000 and 2002, to review existing policy and the state of the knowledge on cannabis use; identify guiding principles for policy development; and develop a broad public policy framework for addressing cannabis use. Part IV reviews the history of the international legal environment, as well as current public policy, legislative frameworks, and administrative structures in other countries. The conclusions and recommendations support enhanced government regulation and intervention in the production and distribution of cannabis. Targeting organized crime and illegal trafficking; decriminalizing individual possession and consumption; and creating a government licensing and marketing system are emphasized. The Committee proposes a major shift in public policy focus, away from criminal legislation and towards public health policy based on encouraging government and users to assume more responsibility.
Keywords: 
Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs; cannabis; pot; marijuana; legislation; Canada; public policy; drugs; drug law reform; policy reform; legislative reform; UN Conventions; United Nations Conventions; public health; decriminalization

Cannabis: Our Position for a Canadian Public Policy - Report of the Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs (Volume I Parts I and 2)

Publication type: 
Position Paper
Agency: 
Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs
Sponsor: 
The Senate of Canada
Date: 
2002-09
Pages: 
244
Summary: 
First of four volumes of a report. The Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs held hearings with experts and the public between 2000 and 2002, to review existing policy and the state of the knowledge on cannabis use; identify guiding principles for policy development; and develop a broad public policy framework for addressing cannabis use. Part I introduces the mandate, research program, and working program of the Committee. Guiding principles in the areas of ethics, governance, criminal law, and science are discussed. In Part II, scientific knowledge about the effects, consequences, and various uses for cannabis is reviewed. Canadian's attitudes and opinions about cannabis are presented, based on pre-existing survey studies and the public hearings and focus groups held by the Committee.
Keywords: 
Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs; cannabis; pot; marijuana; legislation; Canada; public policy; drugs; drug law reform; policy reform; legislative reform; research; scientific research; governance; criminal justice system; justice system; criminal law; public opinion

Cannabis: Our Position for a Canadian Public Policy - Report of the Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs (Volume II: Part III)

Publication type: 
Position Paper
Agency: 
Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs
Sponsor: 
The Senate of Canada
Date: 
2002-09
Pages: 
225
Summary: 
Second of four volumes of a report. The Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs held hearings with experts and the public between 2000 and 2002, to review existing policy and the state of the knowledge on cannabis use; identify guiding principles for policy development; and develop a broad public policy framework for addressing cannabis use. Part III reviews policies and formal practices pertaining to cannabis. It reviews Canada's National Drug Strategy; the history of legislation governing illegal drugs in Canada, beginning in 1908; and the context for the enactment of the Marihuana Medical Access Regulations in 2001. Police, criminal justice system, prevention and treatment practices are discussed. Recommendations include the development of a national platform to enable communication and the development of clear objectives, best practices, and measurement indicators; and the need to integrate and coordinate practices and approaches across and within provinces, territories, and sectors.
Keywords: 
Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs; cannabis; pot; marijuana; legislation; Canada; public policy; drugs; drug law reform; policy reform; legislative reform; National Drug Strategy; Marihuana Medical Access Regulations (MMAR); Controlled Drugs and Substances Act; criminal justice system; justice system; police; prevention; treatment; drug treatment; harm reduction; risk reduction

Closed Circuit Television Surveillance of Public Space in Vancouver: A Brief Overview of Evidence from the UK and Arguments About its Use in the Downtown Eastside

Publication type: 
Position Paper
Agency: 
Carnegie Community Action Project (CCAP)
Date: 
1999-07
Pages: 
11
Summary: 
Pamphlet created by the Carnegie Community Action Project (CCAP) in 1999 when the Vancouver Police Department was in the midst of proposing the use of video surveillance in the Downtown Eastside in order to fight crime. The CCAP began research and analysis of these surveillance systems, and produced this pamphlet, which gives an overview of the ineffectiveness of these systems in the UK. The pamphlet argues that installation of closed circuit television surveillance will do nothing to ameliorate conditions of poverty in the DTES. Rather, it will act as a tool that further promotes the displacement and social exclusion of people in the Downtown Eastside.
Keywords: 
Carnegie Community Action Project (CCAP); Carnegie Centre; Downtown Eastside; DTES; Vancouver; video surveillance; public; Closed Circuit Television (CCTV); Vancouver Police Department; crime; police; surveillance; UK; Britain; evictions

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