Safer Supply: Current Perspectives and Evidence

This webinar was delivered by CATIE in partnership with the National Safer Supply Community of Practice (NSS-CoP).

Canada is facing a drug toxicity and overdose crisis caused by the unregulated drug supply. As an alternative to the unregulated market, safer supply involves the provision of legal and regulated drugs for those at high risk of overdose and other harms. Safer supply is grounded in harm reduction and public health. It can be delivered through various models and can include a range of drugs, but most commonly involves opioids. Most safer supply programs currently operate through medical models involving prescriptions from healthcare providers.

The goal of this webinar was to build awareness and understanding of safer supply in Canada. Speakers provided an overview of what safer supply is, the growing body of research evidence that informs this approach, and examples of what safer supply looks like in practice. The webinar drew on research, clinical and lived experience, as well as advocacy and public health expertise from individuals with extensive experience in safer supply.

Moderator: Christopher Hoy, CATIE

Speakers:

  • Angela Robertson, executive director, Parkdale Queen West Community Health Centre
  • Ashley Smoke, founder and board member, Ontario Network of People Who Use Drugs (ONPUD); board member, Canadian Association of People Who Use Drugs (CAPUD)
  • Corey Ranger, registered nurse and knowledge translation specialist, AVI Health & Community Services; president, Harm Reduction Nurses Association
  • Gillian Kolla, PhD, research fellow, Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research, University of Victoria
  • Marie-Ève Goyer, MD, family physician and scientific director, Équipe de soutien clinique et organisationnel en dépendance et itinérance (ESCODI)

This webinar was delivered in English and simultaneously interpreted in French.

See CATIE's webpage for the video recording

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