1. Supporting the full participation of people who use drugs in policy fora: Provision of a temporary, conference-based overdose prevention site.
- Author
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Brooks HL, Husband C, Taylor M, Sherren A, and Hyshka E
- Subjects
- Canada, Harm Reduction, Humans, North America, Policy, Drug Overdose prevention & control, Pharmaceutical Preparations
- Abstract
The overdose epidemic in North America remains acute and interventions are needed to mitigate harm and prevent death. People who use/d drugs (PWUD) hold essential knowledge to guide the development of these interventions and conferences are vital fora for hearing their perspectives and building support for new policies and programs. However, little guidance exists on how to best ensure the safety of PWUD during conferences. In October 2018, a low-threshold overdose prevention site (OPS) was implemented at a national drug policy and harm reduction conference in Edmonton, Canada. The OPS provided delegates with a monitored space to consume drugs and access drug consumption supplies. This commentary describes the implementation of the OPS with the aim of providing practical guidance for organizers of future substance use-related conferences, meetings, and other events., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interests Declarations of interest: none. The authors (Hannah L Brooks(b); Cassandra Husband(c); Marliss Taylor(d); Arthur Sherren(e), Elaine Hyshka(a)) declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)
- Published
- 2020
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