Nazlee Maghsoudi

Knowledge Translation Manager, Centre on Drug Policy Evaluation (ehemals International Centre for Science in Drug Policy)  | Toronto, Ontario (CA)

Lecture:
Emergence of Drug Checking Services (DCS) in Canada: Implementing a Multi-site DCS Network in Toronto, Ontario for a Marginalized Population of People Who Use Drugs

Against the backdrop of a nationwide opioid overdose crisis driven by the use of drugs of unknown potency or toxicity, drug checking services (DCS) have emerged as an overdose prevention response in Canada. In November 2017, the federal government committed to authorizing and funding pilot projects providing DCS at supervised consumptions sites in British Columbia and Ontario. A crucial difference between the adoption of DCS in Canada and the longstanding use of this harm reduction service throughout Europe is the targeted subpopulation of people who use drugs. Whereas most DCS globally target “recreational drug users,” DCS developing in Canada target marginalized people who use drugs accessing frontline services, many of whom use drugs chronically and by injection. This evolution in the application of DCS poses important questions that have not yet been explored, including optimal service delivery models and technologies, as well as unique barriers (e.g., willingness to wait for analysis results), for this population. Ms. Nazlee Maghsoudi will discuss the development of DCS throughout Canada, focusing on a multi-site DCS network in Toronto, Ontario employing Gas Chromatography- and Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry and operating in partnership with frontline harm reduction agencies, hospital laboratories, people who use drugs, and government.