Grant: Operating Grant

Increasingly, health policy is driven by scientific evidence. However, gaps persist between best evidence and public policy, particularly in response to the illicit drug problem. In light of the growing harms associated with illicit drug use, many municipalities internationally have implemented drug consumption facilities (DCFs): controlled settings where drug users can inject or smoke illicit drugs under medical supervision. While recent research has shown benefits associated with DCFs, currently evidence is insufficient to recommend including them in programming for drug users. Despite this, the number of DCFs has increased steadily over the past decade. Researchers at the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE) have conducted research on DCFs for over a decade and led the scientific evaluation of North America's first supervised injecting facility. This evaluation has led to more than 35 papers in top peer-reviewed journals (e.g., Lancet, British Medical Journal, New England Journal of Medicine, Canadian Medical Association Journal) which show several short-term impacts, such as reduced syringe sharing and increased enrolment into addiction treatment. Building on this work, BC-CfE researchers recently were awarded partial funding from CIHR to conduct a pilot study of an inhalation room for crack cocaine smokers. Despite these developments, DCFs remain highly controversial and have been the subject of legal proceedings in Canada and elsewhere. This proposal seeks funding for a continuing program of interdisciplinary DCF research which will build on past work by assessing the long-term impacts of DCFs on patterns (including cessation) of drug use and on street-level violence, and by assessing the impact of a targeted knowledge translation program on the knowledge, attitudes and practices of stakeholders. The requested funding would also maintain ongoing interdisciplinary research on emerging models of supervised consumption.