Meeting Minutes:

Meeting minutes can be found in the meeting notes and resources folder on the National Safer Supply Community of Practice Google Drive.

NSS-CoP Working Groups Currently Happening:  

• Advisory Council: Meets monthly to provide input, feedback, and advice to the NSS-CoP team about the activities and direction of the NSS-CoP. We are currently seeking some clinical care members to join (RN, RPN, NP, MD). Next meeting: Wednesday, March 30th @ 2pm EDT.
   
• Reframing Diversion: The "issue of diversion" is often cited as a concern for people who are on the fence about or opposed to safer supply. This working group is challenging the dominant conception of diversion and producing some tools and documents to reframe the concept of diversion to reflect a more nuanced understanding about drug sharing/selling/etc., including that it often reflects a practice of care between people and the existence of unmet needs. The group has put together an FAQ document for prescribers that we will soon have finalized and ready to share. We are also looking at putting together an explainer video. Open to all members. Next meeting: Monday, April 11th @ 2pm EDT.
   
• People Who Use Drugs Working Group: This group was formed in January and includes about 18 members from different parts of the country, some who are on safer supply and some who are yet to be able to access safer supply. They are currently discussing some ideas of what work that they would like to do together. Members are compensated for their time. There is currently a waiting list to participate in this working group. Next meeting: Friday, April 22nd @ 1:30pm EDT.
   
• Pharmacist Meeting: We've had a couple of meetings with pharmacists to discuss safer supply from their perspectives and learn from them what challenges and successes that they have encountered, and see what tools/info might help support pharmacists to provide safer supply. There will be a pharmacist panel in April with some of the members from this group. Open to all pharmacists. Next meeting: Wednesday, April 20th @ 6:30pm EDT.
   
• Program Operations Meeting: Some folks involved with programming have started meeting to look at operations issues: policies, program needs, funding, etc. It's been interesting hearing about different programs and models, and the different contexts in which they operate. We are pooling resources, tools, templates, and knowledge products produced by programs to share with others to help make it easier for new programs to get going. Open to all program managers, coordinators. Next meeting: Friday, April 22nd @ 2pm EDT.

NSS-CoP Working Groups Coming in April and May 2022: 

• Guidance for Withdrawal Management Services Providing Care to People on Safer Supply: We will have a small interdisciplinary group discuss suggested guidance and meet with some folks from WMS to hear what they might need as well.
   
• Securing Access to Pharmaceuticals: This is a big one - and as a working group we'll need to hone in on what we want to do together. The issue is the need to expand the range of medication options for safer supply. The challenge as a national group is that barriers to access are, in large part (but not only) regional/provincial.
   
• Pain Management Guidance: This group will look at developing some guidance to support health care providers to provide effective pain management to people who are on safer supply.
   
• Providing Carries: Thanks to Nat K. for suggesting a working group on this! This group will provide safer supply prescribers with guidance to support them to provide carries to people who are on safer supply.
   
• Models for Rural and Remote Communities: These communities face challenges to the models that are currently offered in urban settings. This group will meet to discuss the challenges and look for innovative and feasible solutions.  

If you are interested in participating in any of these working groups, please email us at info@nss-aps.ca.

• Early Findings from Safer Supply Pilot Projects: In 2020, the Substance Use and Addictions Program at Health Canada funded ten time-limited safer supply pilot projects in three provinces. Health Canada then contracted a four-month qualitative assessment, from December 2020 to March 2021, of these projects to capture early learnings, including effective strategies for program delivery. This is a summary of an independent assessment report prepared by Dale McMurchy Consulting based on information gathered through surveys and interviews with safer supply program leads, staff and participants. While this assessment was funded by Health Canada, the information summarized herein does not necessarily represent the views of Health Canada.
   
• Petition: Drug Policies are Killing People: Over 25,000 Canadians have died since 2016 due to the poisoned drug supply. We have it in our power to prevent these deaths right now! Moms Stop The Harm (MSTH) is requesting your support for Bill C-216, An Act to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and implement a National Strategy on Substance Use.
   
• Safer Supply Roundtable - Beyond Medical Models: When MSTH co-founders Leslie McBain and Petra Schulz first met with Carolyn Bennett, the Federal Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health, they discussed the importance of developing scalable models for safe supply. When the Minister offered that she would attend a round table on the topic if they were to organize one, they immediately jumped at the opportunity and reached out to the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition to help them organize and host.
   
• Harm Reduction: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: John Oliver discusses why overdoses in the U.S. have been on the rise and what we should, and shouldn’t, be doing to prevent them.
   
• Crackdown - Episode 30: DULF: There is a brand-new Crackdown Podcast episode available titled "DULF". Here is a brief description of the episode: "In spite of a massive spike in overdose death, BC’s government still refuses to offer a genuinely safe supply of drugs. Eris Nyx and Jeremy Kalicum tell the story of how the Drug User Liberation Front has stepped up to do what the policymakers refuse to do themselves: offer people a safe version of the drugs they already use. Then, Crackdown’s science advisor, Professor Ryan McNeil talks about his recently published work on BC’s 'risk mitigation guidelines'. Why has this program failed to curb overdose deaths, and what needs to be done to improve it?"

Lew, B. et al. 2022. The impact of an integrated safer use space and safer supply program on non-fatal overdose among emergency shelter residents during a COVID-19 outbreak: a case study | Harm Reduction Journal

Highlights:

• There was a significant reduction in the non-fatal overdose rate after the safer drug use and safer supply harm reduction program was introduced.
• Pre-existing relationships between shelter providers, harm reduction groups, and healthcare providers were critical to implementing the program.
• This is a promising approach to reducing harms from the criminalization of substance use in congregate settings, particularly in populations with a higher prevalence of substance use and substance use disorders.

Have a question that you’d like to ask? Email us: safersupplyon@gmail.com or send a message via Twitter, Instagram, Facebook.

We encourage NSS-CoP members to email safersupplyon@gmail.com with submissions to include in our newsletter. Content examples include but are not limited to community-led projects, peer-reviewed articles, grey literature, government publications, etc.

• Nataraj, N., et al. 2022. Dose Tapering, Increases, and Discontinuity among Patients on Long-Term High-Dose Opioid Therapy in the United States, 2017-2019 | Drug and Alcohol Dependence

• Gomes, T., et al. 2022. Duration of use and outcomes among people with opioid use disorder initiating methadone and buprenorphine in Ontario | Ontario Drug Policy Research Network

• Gomes, T., et al. 2022. Duration of use and outcomes among people with opioid use disorder initiating methadone and buprenorphine in Ontario: A population-based propensity-score matched cohort study | Addiction
   
• Godkhindi, P., et al. 2022. “They're Causing More Harm than Good.” A Qualitative Study Exploring Racism in Harm Reduction Through the Experiences of Racialized People Who use Drugs | Harm Reduction Journal
   
• Reed, M. K., et al. 2022. “You can't go wrong being safe”: Motivations, patterns, and context surrounding use of fentanyl test strips for heroin and other drugs | International Journal of Drug Policy
   
• Nassau, T., et al. 2022. Service utilization patterns and characteristics among clients of integrated supervised consumption sites in Toronto, Canada | Harm Reduction Journal
   
• Biondi, B. E., et al. 2022. Factors associated with retention on medications for opioid use disorder among a cohort of adults seeking treatment in the community | Addiction Science & Clinical Practice
   
• Khair, S., et al. 2022. Supervised consumption site enables cost savings by avoiding emergency services: a cost analysis study | Harm Reduction Journal
   
• Landreat, M. G., et al. 2022. How do people who use drugs receiving Opioid Medication Therapy perceive their treatment? A multicentre study | Harm Reduction Journal
   
• Hodges, J., et al. 2022. Six-month outcomes of the HOPE smartphone application designed to support treatment with medications for opioid use disorder and piloted during an early statewide COVID-19 lockdown | Addiction Science & Clinical Practice

• Pivovarova, E., et al. 2022. Legislatively Mandated Implementation of Medications for Opioid Use Disorders in Jails: A qualitative study of clinical, correctional, and jail administrator perspectives | Drug and Alcohol Dependence

• Bennett, A. S., et al. 2022. Naloxone protection, social support, network characteristics, and overdose experiences among a cohort of people who use illicit opioids in New York City | Harm Reduction Journal

• O'Keefe-Markman, C., et al. 2022. The Current State of Psychostimulants Use and Harms in Canada | Canadian Journal of Addiction

• Sedney, C. L., et al. 2022. “The DEA would come in and destroy you”: a qualitative study of fear and unintended consequences among opioid prescribers in WV | Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy

• Government of Canada. 2021. Modelling opioid-related deaths during the COVID-19 outbreak

• Bruneau, A., et al. 2022. French-Canadian Translation and Cultural Adaptation of the Clinical Opiate Withdrawal Scale: The COWS-FC | Canadian Journal of Psychiatry

• O'Reilly, K., et al. 2022. Distinguishing personal use of drugs from drug supply: Approaches and challenges | International Journal of Drug Policy

• Schiff, D. M., et al. 2022. “You have to take this medication, but then you get punished for taking it:” lack of agency, choice, and fear of medications to treat opioid use disorder across the perinatal period | Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment

• Samples, H., et al. 2022. Psychosocial and behavioral therapy in conjunction with medication for opioid use disorder: Patterns, predictors, and association with buprenorphine treatment outcomes | Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment

• Williams, A. R., et al. 2022. Non–prescribed buprenorphine preceding treatment intake and clinical outcomes for opioid use disorder | Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment

• Larnder, A., et al. 2022. Variability in the unregulated opioid market in the context of extreme rates of overdose | Drug and Alcohol Dependence

• Safe-supply pilot project findings promising, but advocates say more action is needed 
• Why is Canada's illicit drug supply so deadly and what's being done about it? 
• Health Canada announces additional funding for safer supply pilot projects 
• Feds urged to decriminalize drugs to save lives amid growing opioid crisis 
• Letter to Ministers Bennett and Duclos re: Threshold quantities in exemption requests 
• How Buying My Drugs Online Has Been Working for Me 
• Imagine safer supply: envisioning an ideal safe supply program, from available substances to the staff and setting 
• Safer supply of opioids saves lives: Providing alternatives to toxic street drugs (all authors are members of the NSS-CoP!)
• Drugs, the dark web and distributing safe supply in hopes of saving lives 
• Opinion: Drug users need a safe supply that won't send them to a morgue 
• Drugs, Disparities and the Promise of Harm Reduction 
• How the Drug War Dies 
• Could Canada’s New Political Alliance Speed Drug Decriminalization?
• Myriad New Drugs Complicate Legalization, as Well as Harm Reduction

• Horgan promises to form all-party committee to tackle toxic drug crisis in B.C.
• BC Lost 207 People to Toxic Drugs in January 
• Experts Reject BC’s Safe Supply Claims
• Rural B.C. communities record staggering toxic drug poisoning deaths in 1st month of 2022
• Victoria harm reduction expert worries Horgan’s opioid committee goal may fall short
• Indigenous harm reduction workers recognized by new Vancouver photo exhibit
• Harm Reduction Heroes Spotlighted in a New Art Show
• Changes in illicit drug supply offer challenges for Victoria researchers 
• A sense of belonging for Nelson’s drug users
• Liberal-NDP deal on pharmacare should include some illicit substances: advocates

• ‘Maddening, heartbreaking’: Alberta records deadliest year for drug overdoses in 2021 
• Toxi-City: Deadly drugs in Edmonton — Overdoses are happening across all neighbourhoods and families are bearing the brunt of the crisis 
• Edmonton to examine decriminalizing minor drug offences 
• Edmonton-area doctors recommend prescribed safe drug supply programs 
• Alberta’s safe-supply committee is missing an opportunity to protect people from harm 
• In Alberta, a Drug Poisoning Crisis Rages 
• 'Death trap': Front-line workers warn of drug overdoses rising on and off the streets 

• Regina's safe consumption site see's month-over-month increase in use 
• Sask. task force consults affected people on what is driving the drug crisis and how to solve it 
• Leadership change at Prairie Harm Reduction as Jason Mercredi joins MN-S 
• Kayla DeMong vows to fight the good fight at Prairie Harm Reduction in Saskatoon 
• Sask. overdose crisis worsening despite increased spending
• Regina overdose events decrease in February

• Black balloons displayed in Winnipeg to honour people who died of drug overdoses 

• Illegal drugs should be decriminalized, Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council members say 
• ‘Absolutely crisis level’: Drug overdoses on the rise in Halton 
• Duration of use and outcomes among people with opioid use disorder initiating methadone and buprenorphine in Ontario 
• Ontario Expanding Mental Health and Addictions Services in Sudbury 
• ‘We’ve never been here before,’ say Waterloo Region outreach workers 
• Toronto police issue public safety alert following 13 suspected drug overdoses in 4-day period 
• 3 separate drug overdose calls within an hour prompt public safety advisory in Peel 
• Opioid crisis: More access to take-home treatments didn't raise risk of overdoses, study says 

• Grief still fresh in Yukon 2 months after spike in opioid deaths

• Visés par une action collective au Québec, 4 fabricants d’opioïdes paient pour s’en débarrasser 
• Crise des opioïdes : une décriminalisation «urgente» des drogues réclamée 
• Drogues illicites : l’approvisionnement sécuritaire est essentiel, conclut un comité 
• Crise des opioïdes: « qu’est-ce qu’on attend pour changer les choses? » 
• Surdose : plus de 200 morts pour un 4e mois consécutif en C.-B. 
• Décriminalisation des drogues : une coalition critique les limites de quantité 
• Soigner l’anxiété à petites doses de LSD 
• Le nombre de décès par surdose fracasse une fois de plus les records en Alberta 

• As overdoses climb in P.E.I., government says it’s committed to safe consumption site
• Study reveals unequal access to addiction care in the Maritimes
• NDP drum up support for bill they say will create safe drug supply, prevent overdoses

• War deepens suffering for Ukraine’s drug users 
• Experts say safe smoking supplies could reduce harm of fentanyl