Grant: Doctoral Research Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

Women and non-binary people who use illegal drugs (e.g., heroin, cocaine) in Canada are at risk of illness and death, and have trouble accessing health and social services. To address these harms, many locations in Canada (like Vancouver) are asking to decriminalize possessing drugs for personal use. Because women and non-binary people experience gender-specific risks (e.g., experiences of physical and sexual violence), it will be important to look into how decriminalization impacts their health and wellbeing specifically. While Vancouver is still waiting for approval to decriminalize personal possession of drugs, it will likely be the first location in Canada to do so. Therefore, I will explore whether there are any characteristics linked to improved or diminished health in relation to decriminalization, how women and non-binary people who use drugs think decriminalization has impacted their health and wellbeing, and whether there are any additional policies that can benefit this population. I will conduct a study in collaboration with drug user-led organizations using two different data sets. First, I will analyze data from the Vancouver Injection Drug Users Study, which is a long-running survey of over 1,000 people who inject drugs in Vancouver. I will investigate whether potential outcomes (e.g., access to overdose prevention services, experiences of violence) changed before and after decriminalization, and whether there are differences in these changes for men compared to women and non-binary people. Next, I will conduct 75 interviews with women or non-binary people who use drugs about their experiences with decriminalization. I will share my research findings through presentations, academic papers, and plain language summaries to a range of audiences. This study is important as other locations are looking to decriminalize drug use, and it can inform other locations on the specific health impacts for women and non-binary people who use drugs.